The National Allied Procurement Office has issued an initial notification upon the completion of Round 8 of the national Volume-Based Procurement (VBP) tender program. The preliminary results, released for public comment from March 30 to April 1, 2023, indicate a market size of RMB 21.6 billion (USD 3.14 billion) based on planned procurement volumes and ceiling price limits, slightly larger than the 7th VBP round.
Average Price Cut and Market Impact
The average price cut for winning bids in this round was 61% from the ceiling prices, a slight decrease compared to the 65% observed in the previous round. This reduction highlights the ongoing trend of cost savings in the healthcare sector through the VBP tender program.
Successful Bids and Manufacturer Participation
A total of 39 drugs saw successful bids, with levonorgestrel being the only drug that was unsuccessful and dropped from the tender. One hundred fifty-two manufacturers won 253 individual tenders, with specific supply regions yet to be disclosed. Among the winners, six manufacturers were from outside of China, including India’s Hetero Labs and Aurobindo, US companies Merck, Sharp & Dohme and A&Z Pharma, Italy-based Alfasigma, and South Korea’s Daewoong.
Leading Domestic Manufacturers and Market Share
The companies winning the most tender slots were led by Kelun Pharma, Reyoung Pharma, and North China Pharma with seven spots each, followed by Fosun Pharma and Brilliant Pharma with six each. Qilu Pharma, SSY Group, Lunan Pharma, and Sino Biopharma each won tenders for five drugs. Notably, Kelun Pharma and two of its subsidiaries all won tender spots for metronidazole sodium chloride, securing a significant portion of the national hospital market for that molecule, which had 10 tender spot winners overall.-Fineline Info & Tech
