The 2022 pricing negotiations for innovative drugs organized by China’s National Healthcare Security Administration have slashed prices of included products by 60% on average, a level mostly unchanged from the 2021 round, although 36% more novel medicines were covered.

The short-notice reopening of the country made 2022 a tough year for the health sector in China, where divestments, cash crunches and commercial challenges abounded. Throughout the year, despite clinical trial activity continuing to blossom, multiple Chinese innovative drug developers faced setbacks in the US from regulatory rejections of oncology products. Meanwhile, others quietly scaled back their operations in China, hit by the negative impact of deep price cuts.

As of October 2022, China's GloriaBio had reached less than 25% of the annual sales volume expected for its anti-PD-1 antibody zimberelimab and was set to miss its full-year target, forcing a CNY423m ($62m) impairment provision and illustrating how immuno-oncology fortunes can fluctuate in the country.

The annual reimbursement price negotiations between pharma firms and China’s National Healthcare Security Administration are just around the corner. While some have chosen to walk away from the process completely, others including majors BeiGene and Hengrui are girding up for another round of potentially deep cuts.