The Healthcare Security Administration of Hubei Province has proposed the establishment of a national traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) patent medicines joint procurement office, alongside a national Chinese patent medicines alliance procurement system. This initiative aims to streamline the procurement process and reduce costs for TCM patent medicines across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Initiation of National Volume-Based Procurement<\/strong> Participation and Procurement Cycle<\/strong>
Hubei\u2019s provincial pharmaceutical pricing and tendering and procurement management service website released the “National Chinese Patent Medicine Alliance Procurement Announcement” (2022 No. 1) on September 9, marking the initiation of national volume-based procurement (VBP) of Chinese patent medicines. The effort, led by Hubei, involves 29 provinces (autonomous regions and municipal cities), excluding Fujian and Hunan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The announcement states that all public medical institutions (including military medical institutions) in the alliance region shall participate, and medical insurance designated private medical institutions and pharmacies are encouraged to partake. The procurement cycle is two years, during which a procurement agreement is signed each year. If the agreed purchase volume for the year is completed ahead of schedule within the procurement cycle, the winning manufacturers will continue to supply at the winning prices until the cycle expires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n