The tide of drug price cuts forced the transformation of pharmaceutical companies

Starting from the 8th of this month, the NDRC will adjust the maximum retail price limit for some anti-tumor, immune and blood system drugs, with an average price reduction of 17%.

The price adjustment involves 95 types of medicines and more than 200 dosage forms of medicines, which has brought a significant impact on the market. For the domestic pharmaceutical industry, which is still weak in R&D, the downward adjustment of drug prices is also a force that pushes the transition.

First, domestic pharmaceutical companies should accelerate the development of patented drugs. Reliance on patented individual pricing will ensure the sustainability of the flagship variety's profitability and increase the competitiveness of the company. In addition, during the “12th Five-Year Plan” period, there will be a batch of pharmaceutical patents in the world that will expire. Domestic pharmaceutical companies will speed up research and development of generic drugs through joint efforts with multinational drug companies, which will help them obtain local promotion advantages and price advantages, and grab food-brand drugs. Market share.

Secondly, to enrich the product structure and avoid monotonous development will help pharmaceutical companies avoid growth risks. Because not only drug price adjustments may hit the survival space of single-product drug companies, frequent drug safety incidents may also cause companies to suffer heavy losses because they rely too much on a single product.

Third, improve the promotion capacity of drugs, and complement each other with drug development and product diversification. In the opinion of many people in the industry, increasing profits through the development and promotion of subdivided products will increase the risk resistance capabilities of drug companies under the pressure of continuous price cuts. Currently, the impact of drug price cuts is mainly released in circulation. However, with the deepening of medical reform and the reorganization of pharmaceutical circulation, the profitability of pharmaceutical companies will eventually be affected. Therefore, while focusing on R&D and production, the transformation of marketing strategy for pharmaceutical companies is also Will continue to accelerate.

The price reduction of drugs is not only the intention of deepening medical reform and reducing the burden on patients, but also the result of full market competition. Although the adjustment of the maximum retail price limit has components of administrative regulation, the price reduction is also the result of the market's control over the varieties with higher gross profit margins and market competition. Under the premise of seeing the separation of medicines and the policy of medical insurance control fees, accelerating research and development and seizing market opportunities is the prerequisite for companies to become “evergreen” in the pharmaceutical field.