BRIEF—China boasts of getting lowest prices for imported cancer drugs

A procurement team targeting exclusively imported cancer drugs formed by 14 Chinese provincial governments announced it got the lowest China prices for 48 cancer drugs.

Among these drugs are Sprycel (dasatinib) from AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly's Alimta (pemetrexed) and Novartis' Glivec (imatinib).

The 14 provinces, including Xinjiang, Shanxi, and Liaoning, are all underdevelopment areas facing strong pressure from drug prices.

However, the recently approved Opdivo (nivolumab) from Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Merck & Co's Keytruda (pembrolizumab), did not give in much as the two drugs were already priced about 50% lower in China than in developed markets for market access.