Shanghai’s Sunshine Medical Procurement All-In-One (SMPA) has issued a notification concerning the online procurement prices for drugs from the first to seventh round of volume-based procurement (VBP) that are not primarily supplied in Shanghai. The notification mandates that these drugs’ prices should not exceed 1.5 times the winning prices or the highest winning prices of the same variety in the city, with contract renewals being subject to the renewal winning prices in Shanghai. This directive will impact 36 drugs across 72 specifications from 42 different manufacturers.
Price variations for VBP-related drugs across provinces have been attributed to factors such as winning/losing bids and national/provincial renewals. Earlier this year, the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) issued the “Notice on Promoting Fair, Honest, Transparent, and Balanced Prices of Drugs with the Same Generic Name and Brand among Provinces,” aiming to resolve the issue of price discrepancies for generics nationwide. The notice calls for the elimination of unfair and discriminatory high prices among provinces for drugs with the same generic name, brand, dosage form, and specifications by the end of March this year.
Manufacturers have been advised to log in to Shanghai’s procurement system and proactively adjust their prices before 17:00 on September 29th. Failure to meet the deadline may result in a price risk warning, and if necessary, credit rating actions and other measures may be implemented.- Flcube.com
