Beijing hospitals to gain faster access to novel drugs under new measures

Hospitals in Beijing will gain faster access to nationally negotiated and innovative drugs under new measures aimed at accelerating the application of medical advances in clinical settings, according to the city's health authority.

Chen Hang, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, said at a news conference on Thursday that the city has introduced "green channels "to simplify hospital procurement procedures for new drugs and medical devices.

"We have reduced red tape and opened green channels for drugs on the national negotiation list and some innovative products," Chen said.

Under the new policy, hospitals will no longer be required to convene drug selection meetings following the release of the national drug negotiation list or the launch of Category I innovative drugs. These drugs will be added directly to hospital formularies, Chen said.

Category I innovative drugs are those independently developed in China that feature novel mechanisms of action or new therapeutic uses.

The city has also established green channels for innovative drugs and devices that address urgent clinical needs or demonstrate significantly improved efficacy. To streamline oversight, the health commission and the Beijing Municipal Medical Products Administration have created a joint coordination mechanism to regularly update the list of approved innovations.

So far, 59 products have been reviewed under the system, and clinical trials have been initiated for 25. At the moment, eight trials are being conducted by Beijing-based medical institutions, Chen said.

According to the health commission, the average time to initiate clinical trials in Beijing has been reduced to 8.43 weeks.

Alongside these reforms, Beijing is promoting closer collaboration between major hospitals and pharmaceutical companies under a new "Pairing Project".

The partnerships are already yielding results in clinical research and academic exchange. Xuanwu Hospital, in cooperation with United States pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, issued China's first prescription for the Alzheimer's drug donanemab and published an expert consensus on disease-modifying treatments for the disease.

Meanwhile, Beijing Friendship Hospital is collaborating with Pfizer (Beijing) Research and Development Co and plans to launch several early-stage and pivotal Phase III clinical trials for a global pipeline of innovative products before the end of this year. The work will include nearly 10 new drugs in fields such as dermatology, endocrinology and immunology.

"Clinical research is a crucial step in the transformation of medical products, and clinical trials represent the 'last mile' in making innovative drugs accessible to patients," said You Hong, executive vice-president of Beijing Friendship Hospital.

"We aim to establish a quantitative evaluation system for comprehensive hospital clinical trial projects and operational management," she said.

yangcheng@chinadaily.com.cn