China releases timeline, priority diseases for revised reimbursement list

China's National Medical Insurance Administration released its plan for issuing a revised National Drug Reimbursement List Wednesday, describing which types of drugs will have priority for inclusion and sketching out a timeline for a revision process that will run through August.

While the revision will include both drugs and traditional Chinese medicines approved before January, priority will be given to drugs from the national essential drug list; drugs for major diseases such as cancer; therapies for rare, chronic and pediatric disease; and emergency use drugs...