China’s New Drug Procurement Program Shakes Up Big Pharma
The new bidding system for generic drugs upends the business of global drug makers in China. The big winners have been Chinese drug makers.
Multinational companies have lost out on contracts for generic drugs in China in recent years. Credit: Sage Ross, Creative Commons
As part of its ambitious plan to reform the country’s healthcare system and lower drug costs, China has begun rolling out a centralized drug procurement system. The system rewards the cheapest price tag, with drug makers competing for contracts to supply generic drugs to the nation’s public hospitals and the government choosing the winners.
Two years into the program, it’s already clear who the losers are: global drug makers like Pfizer, Merck and Eli Lilly. The vast majority of contrac
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