BEIJING — Three rounds of the Chinese government's centralized drug-procurement program over the past two years have seen 112 varieties of medicine selected, with the average price down by 54 percent, a National Healthcare Security Administration official said on Nov 20.

Chen Jinfu, deputy head of the administration, gave the figures at a press conference on how China is battling poverty by addressing illness-induced poverty.

The drug price drop as a result of centralized purchasing means a total of 53.9 billion yuan ($8.19 billion) in expenses is saved for the healthcare security fund and patients, Chen said.

Coronary stents, selected through the centralized procurement program for high-value medical commodities, saw their average price drop by 93 percent from about 13,000 yuan to roughly 700 yuan, saving the healthcare security fund and patients more than 10 billion yuan in related expenses, he noted.