China’s centralised purchasing leads to 90% drop in price of coronary stents

That estimate comes from the results of the initial round of the Chinese Government’s centralised procurement programme for high value medical commodities, which were unveiled on Thursday in north China’s Tianjin City.

A stent is a tiny tube that doctors insert into a blocked passageway to keep it open. The stent restores the flow of blood or other fluids, depending on where it’s placed. Stents are made of either metal or plastic.

The 10 varieties of coronary stents that were successful following bidding saw their average price down to around 700 yuan from about 13,000 yuan, the office in charge of the programme said.

They cover mainstream products now commonly used in health institutions, with quantities accounting for more than 70 per cent of the intended purchase volumes of these institutions.

The average price for the same products from the same enterprises decreased by 93 per cent from 2019.

The average price reduction for domestically made products is 92 per cent, and it is 95 per cent for imported products.

It is estimated that the price cut due to centralised purchasing will save patients some 10.9 billion yuan in related expenses.