The new version of the medical insurance drug catalog is expected to be released to the public at the end of November, and will be officially implemented on January 1st next year.

The National Medical Insurance Administration released the latest updates on the on-site negotiation work of the adjustment of the national medical insurance drug catalog for 2024 on the 2nd. The overall results this year are basically similar to previous years, showing characteristics such as faster access for new drugs, no distinction between domestic and foreign capital, and prices matching clinical value.

This is the first time since the start of the national negotiations six years ago that the National Medical Insurance Administration has publicly disclosed information about the national negotiations before officially announcing the results of the catalog adjustment after the on-site negotiations. This also indicates that the adjustment of the medical insurance drug catalog in China has entered a dynamic, normalized, and standardized track.

The on-site negotiations/bidding of the national medical insurance negotiations in 2024 officially concluded.

Within four days, domestic and foreign enterprises represented by Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals (600276.SH), Akeso (09926.HK), Innovent Biologics (01801.HK), AstraZeneca, and Novartis conducted "soul negotiations" with a total of 162 varieties. Reporters learned from on-site coverage and public information that before this year's negotiations, domestic and foreign enterprises represented by Akeso and AstraZeneca had already reduced prices for the varieties participating in the negotiations.

For example, Akeso reduced the price of PD-1 monoclonal antibody in June of this year, with a single dose price dropping from the original 13,220 yuan to 6,166 yuan, a decrease of 53.4%. At that time, Akeso told a reporter from Caixin that the price reduction was an adjustment made to participate in medical insurance negotiations.

This medical insurance negotiation encourages the inclusion of innovative drugs at reasonable prices in medical insurance, and vigorously supports the development of innovative drugs through accelerating clinical applications and other means. Reporters found that in this year's list of medical insurance negotiations, many newly launched drugs in the first half of the year were included. Over the past six years, the National Medical Insurance Administration has already added a total of 744 new drugs, and the number of Western and Chinese patent medicines in the catalog has increased to the current 3088 kinds.

Soochow Securities releases research reports stating that the development of domestic new drugs in various stages of clinical trials and participation in international multicenter clinical trials reflects a significant increase in China's research and development capabilities. Compared to the Chinese market, some developed countries overseas demonstrate higher market payment capability for innovative drugs, providing a broader pricing space, resulting in higher returns for the research and development of innovative drugs.

Leading Hong Kong-listed companies in the innovative drug sector:

Akeso (09926), Innovent Bio (01801), Beigene (06160), Innocare (09969), Luye Pharma (02186), Fosun Pharma (02196), Sino Biopharm (01177), Remegen (09995), I-Mab (01542), Kangze Medical (00867), etc.