Financial Union News on November 28th, 2024, the national medical insurance catalog was officially announced, with 91 new pharmaceuticals entering the national medical insurance drug catalog, with an average price reduction of 63%; this time adding 11 Chinese patent medicines, with 10 of them being new drugs approved for marketing last year and this year.

Sun Yuewu, a well-known marketing expert in the field of traditional Chinese medicine and senior consultant at Cipilan, told Financial Union News reporters that the increasing number of products entering the medical insurance catalog indicates that companies acknowledge national policies. At the same time, the slight decrease in medical insurance prices compared to market expectations shows that the policy fully considers various factors such as companies' operational costs.

Among the 11 new drugs included in the new medical insurance catalog, the innovation level of innovative drugs is significantly high, with 5 types of Class 1.1 new Chinese drugs, 3 types of Class 3.1 new Chinese drugs, 1 type of Class 1.2 new drug, 1 type of improved Class 2.2 new drug formulation, and this drug is for pediatric use.

Financial Union News reporters found that the above 11 Chinese patent medicines involve 12 listed companies in the traditional Chinese medicine industry, including China Resources Sanjiu Medical & Pharmaceutical (000999.SZ), Jianmin Pharmaceutical Group (600976.SH), Hubei Jumpcan Pharmaceutical (600566.SH), Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical (002603.SZ), Sunflower Pharmaceutical Group (002737.SZ), Yabao Pharmaceutical Group (600351.SH) and other companies.

Data from the National Medical Products Administration shows that except for the approval of the Yiqi Tongqiao Pill in September 2021, the other drugs were approved in 2023 and 2024, therefore, the sales scale of each company's related products is relatively small.

An individual close to Hubei Jumpcan Pharmaceutical told Financial Union News reporters that the products selected for this medical insurance catalog were just approved last year, with sales scale currently only in the millions. In the future, the company will still need further verification, possibly strengthening relevant aspects of the work.

Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceuticals stated in the company announcement that the company's exclusive patented traditional Chinese medicine products have been included in the National Medical Insurance Catalog (2024 edition), which will help the company further promote the market expansion of related drugs, increase sales scale, and have a positive impact on the company's long-term business development. It is expected that there will be no significant impact on the operating performance in the short term.

It is worth noting that for the first time in this medical insurance catalog, three types of new Chinese patent medicines have been included, including Jichuan Decoction, Warming Meridian Decoction, and Yuguan Decoction. Data from Moshang Medical (formerly Yaorongyun) shows that currently only Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical has been approved for the production of Jichuan Decoction, with no other companies having applied. As for Warming Meridian Decoction, aside from China Resources Sanjiu's CR Sanjiu, Tasly Pharmaceuticals (600535.SH), Sh Pharma (601607.SH), and Qingdao Guofeng Pharmaceutical are in line for review. Yuguan Decoction, apart from Shineway Pharm, also has Jilin Aodong Pharmaceuticals (000623.SZ) and Shanghai Kaibao (300039.SZ) awaiting approval.

Evaluation status of Warming Meridian Decoction granules (Image Source: Moshang Medical)

Tasly Pharmaceuticals officials told Caixin reporters that the company's Warming Meridian Decoction granules are in the application stage for production, having passed the drug registration research and on-site production verification. If there are further updates, the company will announce them promptly.

Unlike Class 1.1 new traditional Chinese medicines, Class 3.1 new traditional Chinese medicines are ancient classic prescriptions. These medicines are derived from the list of ancient classic prescriptions issued by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine has so far released a total of 324 classic prescriptions in three batches.

Furthermore, the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine previously stated that in order to implement the laws and regulations on traditional Chinese medicine and promote the inheritance and innovative development of traditional Chinese medicine, it has accelerated the listing of compound formulations of ancient classic prescriptions in the market to meet the medication needs of the people. A total of 107 formulae from five batches have been released for key information. The Jichuan Decoction, Warming Meridian Decoction, and Yuguan Decoction newly included in the new edition of the medical insurance catalog are listed in the key information tables of the ancient classic prescriptions from the first and second batches.

Sun Yuewu believes that 'Class 3.1 new drugs are based on classic prescriptions. Compared to purely innovative drugs, their research and development path is relatively shorter, therefore offering relatively more market opportunities.'

This article is reprinted from "Cailian News". Edited by Liu Xuan from China Financial Network.