Following recent tax-relief measures, China’s health industry insiders estimate that the price of imported cancer drugs will fall by at least 20 percent.
The State Council announced last week that from May 1, China will no longer impose import tariffs on cancer medication from abroad. It also proposed that, in the meantime, the value-added tax on such drugs — currently 17 percent — be greatly reduced.
The combined measures are a boon to the country’s millions of cancer patients. According to People’s Daily, China’s market for anticancer drugs is valued at 100 billion yuan ($16 billion), with imports accounting for roughly half of this figure.
