36 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 29, 2019 http://www.bjreview.comBUSINESS
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released a list of nearly three dozen
generic medicines on June 21 so that
pharmaceutical companies can develop
and produce them. The 34 medicines in-
clude drugs whose patents have expired or
face expiry as well as drugs in short supply,
in a series of measures to ensure a steady
supply of basic medicines and keep their
prices stable so that buyers do not face
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Some drugs have been in short supply
due to a variety of reasons. According to
National Business Daily, many cities expe-
rienced a shortage of nitroglycerin tablets,
used in heart conditions, with their price
rising from 7 yuan ($0.99) per bottle of
100 tablets to more than 50 yuan ($7.1)
in March. The shortage continued in somecities until June.
The developments made the State
Council, China’s cabinet, decide at an ex-
ecutive meeting on August 16 that drug
producers and sellers will be allowed a
reasonable level of discretion to adjust the
prices of medicines in short supply.Changes in prices
Last year, as part of medical reforms, the
Central Government introduced a pilot
program to centralize the procurement
of drugs. Pharmaceutical companies were
asked to submit bids for generic drugs with
the winners to be given a contract for sup-
plying the bulk of the medicines to public
hospitals in the pilot areas for a year.
However, there were some snags.
The same month the pilot program wasintroduced, the office for the centralized
procurement of medicine and medical
consumable items in Liaoning Province in
northeast China, said the producers of six
medicines had informed it that they had to
suspend manufacturing because they could
not buy enough raw materials. The produc-
ers of two medicines said they could not
ensure supplies due to a hike in the price of
raw materials while the prices of the medi-
cines remained unchanged.
Then on January 8, the centralized pro-
curement service center in Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region in north China, issued
a notice saying the sellers of 108 items had
applied to withdraw from the list, citing rea-
sons such as a hike in raw material prices,
changes in production lines and pollution
control measures. This triggered an investi-A buyer purchases medicines at an outpatient dispensary in a Shanghai-based hospital on April 12XINHUAReady for Revision
Reasonable adjustments in drug production and prices are expected to
ensure steady supply %\ó:DQJó-XQ