CHINA TO ENFORCE DRUG PRICE CUTS, REGULATE ONLINE SALES

The Chinese government will carry out a series of nationwide checks to ensure that recent drug price reductions — introduced in September — have been enforced. The government announced last month that prices for over 400 medicines in 22 therapeutic areas would be cut, a move expected to save approximately CNY4bn (US$494.3mn) per year.

The plans are the latest attempt by the government to make medicines in the country more affordable and restrain soaring hospital revenues. In the previous eight years, 16 separate price cuts have been carried out on over 1,000 medicines. However, industry observers assert that as well as checking on price cuts, the government must make sure that hospitals continue to prescribe the low-margin drugs.

Elsewhere, China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) has announced that Internet-based drug traders will be prohibited from selling OTC drugs to other companies or medical establishments and will only be allowed to sell their products to individual consumers.

Online enterprises will also have to pass tests in order to receive trading licenses and will only be authorised if already part of a retail drug chain. The measures are an attempt by the government to standardise online drug trading and reduce the threat of counterfeit medicines.