2023 Outlook for China’s NRDL

Published on October 27, 2023

The three notable themes with this year’s national reimbursement drug (NRDL) list in China. 

Biopharma stocks in China have reacted to the latest national reimbursement drug list (NRDL) developments with strong gains, signaling a rare vote of confidence in the changes unfolding at this high-stake annual event. 
Three notable themes bode well for new innovative therapies, established NRDL incumbents, rare disease drugs, and pediatric drugs. 

1. Record number of innovative therapies going for this year’s NRDL new inclusion. 

A total of 226 drugs made it to the NRDL long list for new inclusion. Of these 226 drugs, 108 were newly approved in China over the past 12 months—73 of which received approval this year. This underscores the pace of new drug approvals in China and the increasingly important link between regulatory developments and reimbursement.

The most notable candidates for the 2023 NRDL include a number of new drugs…