National Healthcare Security Administration: Azvudine Can Be Temporarily Included in Medical Insurance Reimbursement

On Aug. 12, CCTV News reported that, as announced by the National Healthcare Security Administration, all drugs included in the Diagnosis and Treatment Guideline for COVID-19 can be temporarily included in the scope of medical insurance payment in accordance with the relevant regulations of the basic medical insurance, so as to better guarantee the diagnosis and treatment needs. On Aug. 9, the National Health Commission has issued a notice to include azvudine tablets into the Diagnosis and Treatment Guideline for COVID-19. Therefore, the medical insurance fund can pay for the use of this drug by insured patients according to the regulations.

The local medical insurance network shows that Azvudine tablets cost RMB 270 per bottle, with 35 tablets per bottle, 1 mg per tablet, and 5 tablets per day. As the first approved domestic oral drug for COVID-19 in China, Azvudine tablets is priced by Genuine Biotech taking "supporting the fight by the whole people against pandemic and protecting people's health" as the starting point and "making it affordable for the people" as the foothold. 

Recently, to support the pandemic prevention and control in Hainan, Henan, etc., Genuine Biotech has started the emergency production and responded actively together with Fosun Pharma (600196.SH; 02196.HK) to meet the needs of the local governments and imminently allocate Azvudine tablets to the front line of the pandemic, helping to build a barrier for prevention and control of the pandemic and to protect people's health.

Genuine Biotech has built its own manufacturing site in Pingdingshan, which has successfully passed the GMP compliance inspection in May 2022 and can achieve an annual production capacity of 1 billion tablets and an expected annual production of 3 billion tablets in the future. Meanwhile, it has cooperated with multiple pharmaceutical companies, including Beijing Union Pharmaceutical Factory, to fully meet the needs of pandemic prevention and control. 

The temporary inclusion in medical insurance means that COVID-19 patients will have more financial security in their treatment. Genuine Biotech expects Azvudine tablets to be effective and meaningful where the country and when the people need them most.