China Approves 17 Cancer Drugs for National Health Insurer

China’s State Medical Insurance Administration approved 17 cancer drugs for inclusion in the country’s national health insurance system with deeply discounted prices.

The manufacturers of listed products are offering them at an average 56.7 percent less than retail cost. AstraZeneca offered the single biggest discount — 71 percent — for its non-small-cell lung cancer drug Tagrisso (osimertinib). Pfizer was close behind, offering a discount of more than 70 percent for its renal cell carcinoma treatment Inlyta (axitinib) and its lung cancer drug Xalkori (crizotinib).

Novartis is the best-represented drugmaker on the list, with four drugs, followed by Pfizer with three. Bayer, Boehringer, AstraZeneca, Celgene, Janssen, Takeda, Merck, Roche, Hengrui and Chiatai Tiangqing each have a single drug on the list.