The State Council released a guideline to expand the medical and health system reform, and improve the quality and effects of medicines while regulating the distribution system, aimed at better satisfying people’s medical and treatment needs and promoting a healthy China.

To further the health system reform, related departments are urged to boost structural adjustment of medical industries, push forward system reform of medicine distribution and better regulate the medical treatment system, especially the interest-sharing mechanism.

Streamlining medicine approvals and prioritizing those for rare diseases, children, the elderly and emergencies are underlined to help vulnerable groups, and satisfy the needs of major disease prevention.

The guideline encourages pharmaceutical companies to purchase drug formulas, and urged efforts to speed up approval of imported formulas.

According to the guideline, the marketing authorization holder (MAH) will be implemented in new medicines, to encourage R & D of new medicines and promote integration of new products and technologies with existing production capacity.

Meanwhile, more efforts should be made to supervise medicine production, ensure market supply and punish sales of fake products.

The nation will implement key national scientific projects on drug innovation, support eligible enterprises and institutions, and cultivate enterprises with international potential.

The guideline also urged efforts to break local protectionism to support mergers and acquisitions of pharmaceutical companies, and establish a comprehensive distribution channel with a better pricing plan across different regions.

And related departments are required to carry out inspections to crack down on illegal activities, and use “Internet Plus medicine circulation” to reduce transaction costs and improve efficiency.

The guideline also called for public hospitals to prioritize basic medicines in treatment, with more efforts to cut links between drug prices and hospital interests.