National centralized procurement of drugs, lower prices! Reader: What is the efficacy of generic drugs?

In recent years, we have heard such new terms as “national centralized procurement”, “4+7”, and “centralized procurement of drugs” in hospitals or pharmacies. What is national centralized procurement? What benefits does national centralized procurement bring to our people? The reporter conducted a special interview with Ye Jinlin, a pharmacist at Guangdong Second Middle School Hospital, who provided readers with detailed explanations.
National centralized procurement policy, making medication more affordable for the general public
On April 1, 2019 and April 27, 2020, the first and second batches of national centralized procurement drugs were officially launched in Guangdong. Perhaps these days should be more memorable for people with diabetes.
A patient repeatedly confirmed at the entrance of our pharmacy, ‘What? Acarbose is only a few yuan, and I used to get 70 or 80 yuan for a box. Pharmacy teacher, you shouldn’t have miscalculated.’ This is the surprise that the national centralized drug procurement has brought to the people.
Ye Jinlin explained that the centralized procurement of drugs organized by the state, abbreviated as “national centralized procurement”, refers to the drugs purchased in a centralized manner as “centralized procurement drugs”. Centralized procurement is selected through bidding by the National Medical Insurance Administration from drugs that have passed quality and efficacy consistency evaluations. During the bidding process, in addition to considering the price, it is also necessary to consider whether the enterprise can afford the corresponding production capacity. Medical institutions obtain the procurement task volume of centrally purchased drugs through volume reporting, thereby achieving volume based procurement, exchanging quantity for price, and significantly reducing drug prices.
4+7 “refers to the pilot program of national volume procurement in 11 cities, including 4 municipalities directly under the central government of Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, and 7 cities (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shenyang, Dalian, Xi’an, Chengdu, Xiamen). Therefore, volume procurement is also known as” 4+7 “volume procurement. Ye Jinlin introduced, for example, Gefitinib, a drug for lung cancer, was originally priced at 2280 yuan a box, but now it only costs 547 yuan; The price of acarbose has decreased from 88.2 yuan per box to 12.77 yuan; Clopidogrel bisulfate tablets dropped from the original price of 91.7 yuan a box to 17.63 yuan.
There is no difference in efficacy between imported drugs with the same name and generic drugs
The drugs have become cheaper, which is good news for all patients. Where can I find the prices of these drugs? “” What if the supply of these drugs is cut off? “” Is there a difference in efficacy between imported drugs and generic drugs? “Patients’ questions are gradually emerging.
Nowadays, with the development of the internet, the public can directly obtain relevant price information online and also inquire with hospital pharmacists. The national centralized procurement of drugs is based on quantity for price, and during the bidding period, in addition to considering the price, it is also necessary to consider whether the enterprise can afford the corresponding production capacity. Enterprises must ensure supply, and even if a company no longer renews the contract, there will be alternative companies to supply, which can be reassuring Ye Jinlin said.
Is there any guarantee for the quality of such cheap medicine? In fact, departments such as medical insurance, drug supervision, and healthcare have collaborated to ensure the supply and use of selected drugs, ensure drug quality, and standardize drug circulation order.
National centralized procurement of drugs includes both imported original research drugs and domestically produced generic drugs. Generic drugs have passed consistency evaluation to ensure their quality and efficacy, and there is no difference in quality and efficacy between them and imported drugs with the same name, so they can be used as substitutes. What is consistency evaluation? Consistency evaluation refers to the national requirement that generic drugs must have the same quality and efficacy as the original research drugs. Specifically, it requires consistency in impurity spectrum, stability, in vivo and in vitro The dissolution pattern is consistent Ye Jinlin said that with this premise, everyone can rest assured of the quality of drugs.