BEIJING — China's centralized drug bulk-buying program has helped slash the prices of 112 varieties of medicine by an average of 54 percent, the National Healthcare Security Administration said on Jan 29

The country introduced a mechanism to curb inflated drug pricing and soaring medical expenditures in late 2018. It features direct bulk purchases by public health institutions from pharmaceutical companies.

Based on the purchasing volume, this bulk buying is estimated to save China 53.9 billion yuan (about $8.3 billion) every year, said Chen Jinfu, deputy head of the administration, at a press conference.