The list of essential medicines in the country has been updated and adjusted, with the addition of 68 new chemical drugs and biological products.

Experts introduced that in this update of the national essential medicine list, 68 new chemical drugs and biological products have been added, focusing on chronic diseases and common illnesses with high incidence rates. For example, there are 5 new drugs for diabetes, 4 for hypertension, 7 for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and 8 for common digestive diseases. This is beneficial for doctors to have more options when treating patients, and also helps expand the variety of drugs available at the primary level, strengthen the connection between primary and secondary drug use, meet the medication needs of patients in different situations, expand the coverage of disease types, and increase accessibility to medication for the public. In conjunction with the innovative development of the pharmaceutical industry, the new version of the list also includes 16 innovative drugs, including 4 domestically produced type I new drugs. These drugs have high clinical value, a larger target population, are suitable for use in various levels of medical institutions, and will help promote the benefits of medical innovation research and development to a wider audience.