2010-07-05 2182
Business Society, January 26th - The ongoing drug procurement bidding has sparked controversy due to changes in policy content.
According to Yu Mingde, President of the China Association of Pharmaceutical Enterprise Management, the industry standards for the pharmaceutical distribution industry formulated by the Ministry of Commerce are not mandatory standards. The purpose of developing these standards is to provide guidance and promotion for enterprises. During the recent National Drug Distribution Industry Management Conference, Deputy Minister of Commerce Jiang Zengwei expressed similar views. Jiang Zengwei pointed out the need to provide greater guidance for the development of the industry and enterprises, vigorously develop modern logistics and chain operations, and guide large-scale and well-established pharmaceutical wholesalers and retailers in developing modern logistics and chain operations. Therefore, the purpose of the Ministry of Commerce in setting industry standards is to provide more guidance for pharmaceutical distribution enterprises. Earlier, a symposium on the standardization of the drug distribution industry was held in Beijing. Wen Zaixing, Deputy Director of the Market Order Department of the Ministry of Commerce, participated in this "secret" symposium, and representatives from 16 large pharmaceutical distribution companies such as Nanjing Pharmaceutical and Beijing Pharmaceutical were also present. According to participants, the industry standards set by the Ministry of Commerce are different from Good Supply Practice (GSP) and are not access thresholds. Instead, they provide a benchmark for distribution enterprises to determine their level and position within the industry, qualifying them for bidding.
Regarding the proposed industry standards for the pharmaceutical distribution industry, Niu Zhengqian, Deputy General Manager of Jiuzhou Tong Group, pointed out that these standards are used to classify enterprises based on indicators such as the number of vehicles used, warehouse area, and management level. This can effectively address some issues in the drug procurement bidding process. Speaking of issues related to bidding, Niu Zhengqian pointed out that some places currently lack corresponding evaluation standards for basic drug distribution bidding, and there are even instances of direct designation by relevant departments. For example, in the bidding for drug distribution in Beijing, an enterprise with 300 vehicles failed to compete with an enterprise with only 5 vehicles. The industry standards issued by the Ministry of Commerce can help measure the level of enterprises and determine which level of bidding they can participate in. In response to this issue, Jiang Zengwei stated that obstacles to fair competition should be eliminated, and the survival of the fittest should be achieved in the pharmaceutical distribution industry. However, Yu Mingde expressed some concerns, pointing out that since the industry standards set by the Ministry of Commerce are not mandatory, their measurement and evaluation of enterprises may not necessarily solve the problems in the bidding process. However, Guo Fanli, a researcher in the pharmaceutical industry at China Investment Consulting, holds an optimistic attitude towards the formulation of standards. He pointed out that the formulation of industry standards by the Ministry of Commerce will help improve the overall level of pharmaceutical distribution enterprises at a small level, and from a larger perspective, it will contribute to the stable and healthy development of the entire pharmaceutical industry in China. Furthermore, according to the "Notice on Strengthening the Management of the Pharmaceutical Distribution Industry" jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce and the National Medical Products Administration, the Ministry of Commerce is mainly responsible for formulating pharmaceutical distribution plans, standards, etc., which is a comprehensive grasp. The National Medical Products Administration is mainly responsible for the admission management of pharmaceutical operating enterprises, which is a specific operational aspect. Once the industry standards for the pharmaceutical distribution industry are implemented, the division of work between various ministries and subordinate departments will become clearer. Regarding these standards, Dr. Ma Lexin, Chairman of Guangdong Changhao Pharmaceutical, pointed out that three issues should be considered during the formulation of industry standards for the pharmaceutical distribution industry. First, it is necessary to consider the public nature of pharmaceutical products. Second, the standardization problems in distribution bidding should be addressed. Third, pilot testing should be conducted appropriately. It is hoped that the industry standards can complement the new medical reform.
For the Ministry of Commerce, which has just taken over the pharmaceutical distribution industry, both standards and plans are actively being formulated. For commercial distribution enterprises, they have many expectations and are also confused about the new standards because the distribution industry has many deep-seated problems that need to be solved through new standards. Guo Fanli's analysis states that at a macro level, the industry standards for pharmaceutical distribution formulated by the Ministry of Commerce should focus on solving the following three problems: first, clarifying the division of functions in the pharmaceutical distribution industry. Only by clearly defining the functional scope of each ministry can the problems of "multitude, small-scale, fragmentation, and disorder" in the pharmaceutical distribution industry be effectively controlled. Second, it is necessary to strengthen supervision of the pharmaceutical distribution industry to avoid local protectionism and minimize the cost of drugs in the distribution process in order to meet the goals of the new medical reform, providing a "safe and transparent" market environment for the general public. Third, it is necessary to establish long-term goals and directions to truly establish and improve industry standards for the pharmaceutical distribution industry, and these goals and directions should be consistent with the goals of the ongoing new medical reform. If the industry standards for the pharmaceutical distribution industry established this time can complement the new medical reform, then the new medical reform will have taken a big step towards its goals.
In the context of the new medical reform, the problems that arise in distribution bidding are of utmost concern to enterprises. Regarding the recent controversy over the distribution bidding results in Beijing, Yu Mingde pointed out that it is unreasonable for the government to designate 10 distribution enterprises. Why do these 10 enterprises have the qualifications while others do not? Whether an enterprise can obtain distribution qualifications should be determined by the market. According to insiders, the new standards under consideration also lean towards market-oriented management of distribution. Regarding the call for marketization, Ma Lexin pointed out that relying solely on market-oriented means is not feasible because pharmaceutical products have the characteristics of public goods. It is necessary to ensure that drugs are delivered to every patient in need. If these standards treat pharmaceutical distribution enterprises the same way as supermarkets and logistics companies, problems may arise. This may lead to a shortage of medicine and insufficient drug supply in some remote areas due to high distribution costs, ultimately requiring government subsidies and policy support in these areas. In addition, Ma Lexin suggested that after the Ministry of Commerce formulates industry standards for the pharmaceutical distribution industry, pilot tests should be conducted within a certain scope to promptly discover any issues in the policies (Reporter: Jia Yan).