China cuts basic medicine prices

China has imposed a compulsory benchmark pricing scheme on nearly 300 basic medicines in its latest effort to provide more affordable drugs.

The price cap, effective today (Thursday), cuts the price of medicines involved by an average of 12 percent. It covers more than 2,300 specific products. That's about 45 percent of basic medicines. But the price of certain drugs in short supply will be raised moderately to encourage their production.

The National Development and Reform Commission says medical and health units can fix their own prices based on market demand, but retail prices should not exceed the official benchmark level. Violators will be fined as much as 1,000 yuan. Repeat offenders will face losing their business licenses.