Medical insurance negotiations come to an end: 700,000 rare disease drug companies show up, and 1 million CAR-T may not participate
The Paper Zhou Dian and Li Xiaoxiao, News Reporter
On November 11, the national medical insurance negotiations called “Innovative Drug Double 11” continued in Beijing. This is the third and final day of this round of negotiations.
The Paper reporters arrived at the negotiation site-Bank Insurance Jianguo Hotel at about 8:30 in the morning. Business representatives were waiting outside, and some business representatives were still talking quietly about negotiation strategies while waiting. Compared with the previous two days, the number of people waiting outside this time has been significantly reduced.
People waiting on the scene of the National Medical Insurance Negotiations in 2021
According to previous online information, the main varieties negotiated today are gynecological, cardiovascular, blood, children and dermatological drugs. In addition, Fosun Kate (car-T products with 1.2 million negotiated products) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (the negotiated products include PD-1 product “O medicine”), which has not been unveiled two days before the negotiation, are also outsiders. The focus of attention on today’s negotiations.
However, there were some subtle changes in the negotiation scene on the last day. For example, the staff of the National Medical Insurance Bureau originally called the company’s name at the entrance to inform the negotiation.But today it’s changed to be notified by phone. In addition, corporate representatives are wearing masks. Compared with the previous two days, it is difficult to determine which company enters or exits.
However, we can still see the intensity of the negotiation room: a number of business representatives who came out of the negotiation room held calculators in their hands, and one female business representative even held two calculators.
It is worth mentioning that Huang Bin, vice president of AstraZeneca China, who was present two days before the negotiation, appeared again at around 3 in the afternoon. On the same day, a representative of a domestic pharmaceutical company arrived, and a reporter from The Paper asked the company for verification. The other party said that its own products have entered the medical insurance catalog through previous negotiations, and today it is to sign the implementation agreement. It is inferred from this that Huang Bin returned to the scene again, perhaps also signing an implementation agreement.
Bojian enters the negotiation room, can 700,000 injections of rare diseases drop?
At the scene on November 11, The Paper reporter noticed that at about 9:30 in the morning, a representative of an enterprise claiming to be Bojian entered the venue. Entering the venue were three male negotiators in suits and leather shoes, each with a transparent document bag containing three or four pages of information paper.
Bojian’s negotiation this year is the most important item for the rare disease spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) treatment drug Nosidium Sodium Injection. In August 2020, there was a controversy caused by “domestic 700,000 yuan for a needle, foreign 280 yuan for a needle”. In the end, Bojian responded that 280 yuan was the self-paid price after reimbursement in Australia, and the drug was all self-paid drugs in China.
Noxinassen Sodium Injection was approved in February 2019. Because it did not meet the conditions for participating in the 2019 national medical insurance negotiations, it did not participate in the 2019 national medical insurance negotiations. In the 2020 medical insurance negotiations, according to the work plan at the time, Noxinassen Sodium Injection met the negotiation standards, but it did not undergo a comprehensive review and was ultimately not eligible for formal negotiations.
This time a Bojian representative entered the negotiation room, which can at least prove that the product has entered the formal negotiation link. As for the result, we still need to wait.
Fosun’s Kate representative did not show up, CAR-T may not enter the negotiation
In addition to popular target tumor drugs such as PD-1, CAR-T therapy Akirensai injection is a hot spot in this year’s negotiations. The company behind the product is Fosun Kate, but as of 4 o’clock in the afternoon on the 11th, no representative of Fosun Kate has appeared on the scene.
If Fosun Kate did not participate in the negotiation, it means that Fosun Kate, like Bojian in 2020, has entered the preliminary review list, but failed to enter the real negotiation link due to other reasons. However, this possible result is consistent with outside expectations. The industry generally believes that only one CAR-T product has entered the preliminary review list, and the negotiation is unlikely to succeed without competition.
The reason why the outside world believes that Fosun Kate will participate in the medical insurance negotiations is because the National Medical Insurance Agency’s official website previously released the “2021 National Medical Insurance Drug Catalog Adjustment Passed Preliminary Formal Review of Drugs and Information” that included its CAR-T products.
The 1.2 million CAR-T needle has aroused strong public concern, but in fact, entering the preliminary list does not mean that it will enter formal negotiations. According to the above announcement, there are 271 drugs that passed the preliminary review list, but according to CCTV Finance, a total of 25 experts were divided into 5 groups to negotiate drug access for about 120 drugs. During the previous CIIE, Huang Huabo, Director of the Medical Service Management Department of the National Medical Insurance Administration, publicly stated that there are 110 kinds of Western medicines entering the negotiation link.
In other words, the CAR-T products that enter the preliminary review list may not really enter the formal negotiation. Regarding whether to send personnel to participate in the negotiation, The Paper asked for confirmation from Fosun Kate’s side. The other party emphasized: “A response can only be made after the negotiation is over.”
At four o’clock in the afternoon on the 11th, there are fewer people waiting outside the negotiation scene.
As of four o’clock in the afternoon on the 11th, fewer and fewer people were waiting at the negotiation site. Some business representatives said that the companies that were originally scheduled to enter the venue at 2:30 this afternoon did not enter until 3:30, and the overall time was delayed.
Although the overall pace of negotiations has been delayed, this round of medical insurance negotiations is also coming to an end. As for the real winning bid result, we still need to wait for the official announcement.
According to the official website of the National Medical Insurance Administration on June 9 this year, the National Medical Insurance Drug Catalogue Adjustment Work Plan for 2021 and the 2021 National Medical Insurance Drug Catalogue Adjustment Reporting Guidelines for solicitation of comments were issued. September to October is the negotiation stage. Month to November is the stage of announcement of results.
Actually, the negotiation time was slightly delayed and did not start until November. Refer to the 2020 medical insurance negotiations, negotiations in mid-December, and a press conference to announce the results at the end of December, half a month apart. According to this time, the results of this negotiation may be announced at the end of November.
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