Positioning for Success: Navigating China’s C-List and Commercial Catalog for Innovative Medicines
This Access360 course—Module 2 of our Executive Masterclass Series on the C-List and Commercial Drug Catalog—offers a strategic deep dive into China’s emerging commercial access pathways for innovative medicines. It aids life sciences executives in making informed decisions on how best to position their products across the National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL), the C-List, and the Commercial Drug Catalog in a shifting policy environment.
Participants will gain practical insights into current policy proposals shaping the C-List, including criteria for drug selection, pricing negotiation frameworks, financing mechanisms, pathways for integration with commercial insurance, and adoption by healthcare providers and consumers.
The course unpacks critical distinctions between the C-List and NRDL—across governance, policy intent, and operational implementation—and examines how their interplay could reshape China’s broader access landscape. Through this lens, participants will identify emerging opportunities, assess risks, and evaluate the potential impact on market access and commercialization outcomes.
We also examine potential gaps and limitations in current NHSA proposals, offering guidance on where targeted policy monitoring, advocacy, and stakeholder engagement may influence future direction.
The module concludes with a comparative analysis of the Commercial Catalog—an industry-led initiative gaining traction alongside the C-List. You’ll explore how it aligns with or diverges from the C-List in terms of governance, stakeholder incentives, and implementation risks, and what this means for your access strategy.
Recognizing the dynamic nature of this policy landscape, course materials will be updated as new developments emerge—keeping you current, responsive, and better positioned to anticipate strategic inflection points.
Course Outline
Section 1: What is the C-List and Its Relationship with the NRDL
Section 2: What Makes the C-List a Strategic Shift in China's Pricing Philosophy?
Section 3: A Testing Ground for Innovative Payment Models
- Bringing Structure to Commercial Drug Lists
- High Bar for Innovation
- The Role of Pharmacoeconomic Analysis
- Not a Back Door to Bypass the NRDL
Section 5: C-List Negotiation Modeled on NRDL, But with Commercial Insurers in the Lead
- NHSA’s Proposed C-List Negotiation Framework
- IAC’s Vision for Commercial Formulary Negotiation
- Timeline Adjustment and Industry Response
Section 6: Financing the C-List
- NHSA’s Vision for China’s Supplemental Health Insurance
- Where Will the Money Come From?
Section 7: C-List Uptake: Overcoming the “Last-Kilometer” Challenge
- Structural Barriers in China’s Drug Distribution System to Commercial Insurance Integration
- Additional Hurdles to Hospital Uptake of Highly Innovative Therapies
- NHSA’s Proposed Policy Adjustments to Facilitate C-List Uptake in Hospitals
Section 8: Comparison of C-List and NRDL Access Pathways
- Table 1: Contrasting C-List and NRDL Access Pathways – Key Differences
Section 9: Industry-Led Commercial Insurance Drug Catalog and the A-List
Section 10: Contrasting C-List and Commercial Catalog
- Governance Structure
- Table 2: Governance Structure Comparison: C-List vs. Commercial Catalog
- Diverging Sponsors, Diverging Priorities
- Table 3: Comparison: C-List vs. A-List Huiminbao Integration Scenarios
- Diverging Sponsors, Diverging Risks
- Table 4: Implementation Risk Comparison: C-List vs. A-List
- Listing at Huiminbao Plan Level
- Outlook: Converging Paths?
