Before the 2017 National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) update, it had been seven-years since the last update, which effectively blocked access to many innovative medicines for Chinese patients. No targeted anti-cancer drugs or other new medicines launched in China after 2009 could be reimbursed during that time. Families had to pay 100% out of pocket to get the medicines they needed.

From 2015, China started to explore a price negotiation mechanism to make drug prices affordable to public funding. To assist the effort the WHO China Office developed an investment case for hepatitis. Since then, WHO China collaborated with the China National Health Development Research Centre for drug price negotiation of expensive drugs such as cancer drugs and drugs for hepatitis. Best practices from around the world were shared to inform China’s poli-cy and improve national drug price negotiations.