The National Allied Procurement Office has released a notification regarding Round 10 of the national Volume-Based Procurement (VBP) tender program, which is scheduled to take place in Shanghai on December 12. Eligible manufacturers are required to submit information related to drug varieties via the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) website before 12:00 noon on December 2, 2024. Any initial information that needs revision or supplementation must be submitted before 4:00 pm on the same day. Procurement contracts awarded for each drug will be valid for two years, expiring on December 31, 2027, consistent with previous rounds.
New Rules for the Upcoming VBP Tendering Round
This year’s VBP tendering rules introduce several significant changes from previous rounds. Competing products are no longer required to reduce their price by at least 50% from the ceiling price set by the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA). To win a tender, manufacturers must meet two rules: Rule No.1 states that the “unit comparable price” must not exceed the lowest “unit comparable price” among the same variety drugs, and specific price thresholds apply for oral solid preparations, small volume injections, and large volume injections. Rule No.2 allows shortlisted manufacturers with valid filings that did not win under Rule No.1 to be awarded a tender spot if they accept the same variety’s highest winning price determined under Rule No.1. If there is only one manufacturer winning the bid for a particular drug under Rule No.1, they can also be awarded tenders if they accept 1.8 times the “unit comparable price” of the winning bid. Manufacturers winning a tender spot as a consortium are all deemed as winning the bid, with the same winning price to be implemented.
Supply Area Confirmation and Secondary Backup Suppliers
After winning manufacturers confirm the main supply area, a backup supply area confirmation procedure will follow. For drugs relating to esmolol, aminocaproic acid, dobutamine, metaraminol, potassium chloride, naloxone, nimodipine, noradrenaline, isosorbide dinitrate, and neostigmine, if there are no less than three winning manufacturers for the same variety, provincial healthcare security administration bureaus can choose a secondary backup supplier from the same variety winning manufacturers.
Online Supply and Pricing Guidelines for Winning Manufacturers
Winning manufacturers, including all manufacturers in consortiums, can list their products online for supply at the winning prices in the main supply and backup supply areas. In secondary backup supply areas, prices shall not exceed 1.5 times the winning prices or the highest prices among the same varieties, a rule that also applies to non-main supply areas and non-backup supply areas.-Fineline Info & Tech
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