534 Drugs Pass Preliminary Review for 2025 National Reimbursement Drug List

On the 12th, China’s National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) announced the preliminary review results for the 2025 National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL), with 534 drugs passing the formal review. The number of submitted drugs exceeded that of 2024.

The NRDL adjustment process involves several stages, including drug application submission, formal review, expert evaluation, price negotiation, and bidding. The formal review examines whether the submitted drugs meet the eligibility criteria for the basic medical insurance list and the commercial insurance innovative drug list, as well as the completeness of drug information.

Notably, this year’s adjustment introduced a new commercial insurance innovative drug list, which was submitted simultaneously with the basic medical insurance list. A total of 141 generic drug names were submitted for the commercial insurance list, with 121 passing the preliminary formal review.

An NHSA official explained that some drugs applied for both lists, but due to differing eligibility criteria, discrepancies in review outcomes occurred between the two lists.

Some expensive drugs that clearly exceed the coverage scope of basic medical insurance passed the preliminary formal review, indicating only that they met the application requirements and qualified for the next stage. Whether these drugs ultimately enter the NRDL depends on strict evaluation procedures, including successful price negotiations for exclusive drugs and competitive bidding for non-exclusive drugs.

The public notice period runs until August 18. The NHSA will verify the drug information based on feedback received during this period and finalize the list of drugs that pass the formal review before making it public.