China has published its first state-backed catalogue of costly innovative drugs to be covered by private health insurers.
The new catalogue issued on 7 December 2025 by the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) will take effect from 1 January 2026. The new catalogue will supplement the state-funded National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL).
The process of putting in place the new catalogue began in October this year. A list of 141 drugs was proposed for inclusion in the catalogue; however, only 19 were eventually added to the published catalogue. The drugs that have now been included in the new catalogue are described by the NHSA as highly innovative, clinically valuable, and offering significant patient benefits.
Of the 19 drugs that have finally made it to the catalogue, 14 are cancer drugs, while two are for treating Alzheimer’s and the remaining are for rare-disease therapies.
Innovative medicines are new drugs with novel mechanisms and proven clinical benefits, but their high development costs often put them out of reach of many patients. The new catalogue lets private health insurers step in to fill the coverage gap. Currently, the payment for such innovative and new drugs is covered by state funding, the patients themselves and private insurers.