TariffFree Drugs

On May 1, import tariff exemptions went into effect on all common drugs including cancer drugs, cancer alkaloid-based drugs and imported traditional Chinese medicine.

Value-added tax on the production and import of drugs will also be lowered.

It is estimated that the policies will lower drug prices by at least 20 percent, said Shi Luwen, Director of the International Research Center on Medicine Management at Peking University.

The measures will significantly enhance the availability of the drugs, reduce the burden on patients and their families and will help prevent poverty due to illness, he said.

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the market in China for antineoplastic drugs used to fight tumors exceeds 120 billion yuan ($19.1 billion).

The Chinese Government has been focusing on easing the financial burden of patients and their families in recent years.

NCI statistics show that 3.5 million new cancer patients are diagnosed in China annually, with lung cancer, breast cancer and stomach cancer ranked as the top three. National People’s Congress (NPC).

The practice of assessors has existed in China for a long time, but the country did not have a law in the system prior to the new legislation.

Assessors will be able to decide on both law application and facts on a three-person bench, but will only focus on the facts on a seven-person bench.

Li Shouwei, an official with the NPC Standing Committee’s Legislative Affairs Commission, said the seven-person bench will usually be composed of three judges and four assessors.

“It is more prudent to use the seven-person bench to try cases with a big social impact,” Li said. “The assessors have broad life experience and know the public concerns well. These advantages are good to ensure a better trial.”