China medical insurance agency pushes for lower cancer drug prices: Xinhua

China’s new medical insurance regulator will begin negotiations with domestic and overseas pharmaceutical companies to lower prices of cancer drugs in a bid to cut the financial burden on patients, the Xinhua News Agency said on Saturday.

The State Medical Insurance Administration said it was preparing to include more cancer drugs on its list of medicines eligible for reimbursement, and 10 foreign and eight domestic pharmaceutical companies had expressed a willingness to work with the authority.

China’s cancer rates have been soaring, driven by growing numbers of over-60s, heavy smoking among men and exposure to pollution.

The National Cancer Center said last year there were 4.29 million new cases every year and 2.81 million deaths.

A 2014 study by the China Cancer Center shows that the five-year survival rate for Chinese cancer patients was 30.9 percent. This is significantly lower than the rate in the US, which is 65.9 percent.

Improving insurance coverage is one of the biggest challenges facing China as its population gets older. It has vowed to make medicine and treatment cheaper and more easily available.

A national medical insurance system began covering 16 brands of targeted cancer drugs last year, cutting prices by 44 percent on average, Xinhua reported this year.

China also removed tariffs on all imported cancer drugs as of May 1, following a decision by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang when presiding over an executive meeting of the State Council, China’s cabinet, on April 12.