China will exempt¹ import tariffs² on all cancer drugs and encourage the import of more innovative³ drugs, according to a statement released after an executive meeting of the State Council presided over by Premier⁴ Li Keqiang on Thursday.

 

李克强总理周四主持的国务院常务会议后发布的一份声明中显示，中国将免除所有癌症药物的进口关税并鼓励进口更多创新药物。

 

From May 1, import tariffs on all common drugs including cancer drugs, cancer alkaloid-based drugs, and imported traditional Chinese medicine will be exempted⁵, the statement read.

 

Value added tax in the production and import of drugs will drop by a large margin⁶.

 

The authorities will reduce the prices of cancer drugs through centralized government procurement⁷ and eliminate premium⁸ prices for drugs by means of cross-border e-commerce. Imported innovative drugs, especially much-needed cancer drugs, will be incorporated into the catalogue of medical insurance reimbursement⁹, the statement said.

 

The import of innovative drugs will be accelerated and they will come into the market at an earlier date.

 

Intellectual property rights protection of the drugs will be strengthened, the statement stressed. The data protection period of innovative drugs will be prolonged to six years, within which drugs of the same kind will not go onto the market.

点击收听单词发音