Easing the Pain: China removes tariffs on imported cancer drugs

World
Europe

03:04

China has pledged to lessen the financial burden of healthcare, especially for cancer patients. From May 1st, tariffs will be removed from all imported cancer drugs. CGTN's Xu Mengqi looks at how this policy will affect those battling cancer.

44-year-old Cheng Jing is a lung cancer patient.

A year ago, her cancer was found to have spread to the brain so she had to begin a new round of chemotherapy.

Cheng also takes a drug named Iressa, a treatment that targets her type of lung cancer. But like many imported drugs, it hasn't always been affordable.

CHENG JING LUNG CANCER PATIENT "In March 2017, I started targeted drug therapy. Back then, Iressa wasn't covered by my city's medical insurance program and it cost 7,200 yuan per month. I'm a teacher and my monthly salary is only a little over 5,000 yuan."

For China's working class, imported anti-cancer medicine is usually exorbitantly priced.

Take Iressa as an example. A 250 miligram tablet costs between 11 to 13 dollars in countries like Canada, the UK and USA, but in China it is sold for three to four times as much.

XU MENGQI ZHENGZHOU, HENAN "To help bring the price down, China announced that it will remove import tariffs on all anti-cancer drugs and reduce the VAT by a large margin from May 1. And with about 10,000 people diagnosed with cancer in China each day, we are talking about millions who will benefit from the policy."

According to China Daily, the sales of anti-cancer medicines in China exceeds 19 billion US dollars a year and half of that is generated by imported drugs. And with the current tariff standing at between 2 to 4%, the new policy means China's cancer patients will pay 380 million - 760 million USD less.

A small amount maybe, when it comes to each one of them, but a steady first step.

LIU LING, PRESIDENT HENAN ASSOCIATION OF CANCER RECOVERY "We have more than 1,000 people on imported medicine in our association. Many who need it can't afford it. When we heard about the news, we immediately shared it with one another."

While the policy to bring down the price is largely welcome, cancer patients like Cheng have their specific concerns.

CHENG JING LUNG CANCER PATIENT "Iressa as a first-line therapy is usually effective for an average of 8 months. I am sort of lucky because I have made it through the 14th month now and my lung condition is still stable. But once I become resistant to Iressa I will have to rely on more expensive second-line or third-line therapy."

Which have yet to be incorporated into the catalogue of medical insurance reimbursement. And for those who rely on medicine that hasn't even entered the Chinese market, China promises to streamline the approval mechanism and accelerate the import process. But Cheng says it is a race for life cancer patients can not afford to lose. Xu Mengqi, CGTN, Zhengzhou, Henan Province.