The controversy over the flu drug oseltamivir has once again sparked widespread discussion. Not long ago, a message about "the price of oseltamivir hospital is only 20 yuan" appeared on the hot search list, but some people said that the drug they bought** was about 200 yuan. Why is there such a big difference?What about current medications**
Why are the varieties collected in different channels?
*Significant differences?
Oseltamivir is a classic drug in anti-influenza drugs, as a specific inhibitor of neuraminidase, oseltamivir inhibits the spread of influenza virus in the human body by inhibiting the mature influenza virus from breaking away from the host cell, so as to play the role of **influenza, can be used for influenza A and B**, known as the "king of influenza drugs".
**I visited many hospitals and pharmacies in Beijing and learned that most patients can buy oseltamivir with a prescription. According to a pharmacist from a tertiary hospital, Zhejiang Huahai capsules (75mg*10 capsules)" are 2096 yuan;Yichang East Sunshine Granules (15mg x 10 sachets)** is 4568 yuan;All of them are Class B medical insurance.
*In stores, oseltamivir** is also higher than that of hospitals, with retail prices ranging from $65 to $180 per box. For the ** discrepancy, a pharmacy staff member simply replied, "The hospital has a subsidy." And there is no positive response to whether there has been a recent price increase.
As early as 2022, oseltamivir entered the national drug centralized procurement catalogue for the first time, and Guangdong East Sunshine Pharmaceutical*** hereinafter referred to as "East Sunshine") with 0The 99 yuan ** won the bid in the seventh batch of centralized procurement, and since then, ** has been declining, and the average price of oseltamivir dry suspension in the eighth batch of centralized procurement has been reduced by 83%.
However, unlike the selling price of hospitals, the retail sales of oseltamivir** are much higher than those of centralized procurement**. A search on an e-commerce platform found that the price of a single box of oseltamivir phosphate capsules under East Sunshine is 88 yuan, and the specification is 75mg*6 capsules, which is converted to about 14 per capsule6 yuan, which is more than ten times the unit price of centralized procurement.
Why is the value of online retail much higher than that of hospitals?Industry insiders explained that this is because there are different systems between the two. The reason for the higher online** is that its drug sales involve multiple stakeholders including drug manufacturers, drug distributors, e-commerce, logistics companies, retail pharmacies, Internet hospitals, etc., which also determines that its price will be higher than that of hospitals.
The price of oseltamivir on e-commerce platforms.
*Adequate, take medication according to your doctor's advice.
Since the arrival of the flu season, oseltamivir has been a popular use. However, judging from the situation at both ends of supply and demand, oseltamivir on the market this year is not difficult to buy. The pick-up offices of many hospitals told *** that they could be purchased with a doctor's prescription. In addition, visiting offline pharmacies and searching on e-commerce platforms found that oseltamivir can basically be bought immediately.
At present, there are three dosage forms of oseltamivir marketed in China, including capsule dosage form, granule dosage form and dry suspension. According to the data query platform of the State Food and Drug Administration, there are a total of 49 domestic oseltamivir products (including APIs) with drug approval numbers, involving many pharmaceutical companies such as East Sunshine Pharmaceutical, Kelun Pharmaceutical, Shisi Pharmaceutical, and Yangtze River Pharmaceutical. There are 15 imported products, involving Roche Pharmaceuticals, Merck & Co., Ltd. and other companies.
Since oseltamivir phosphate capsules are a variety of centralized procurement, and centralized procurement has clear requirements for the ability of enterprises to ensure supply, oseltamivir should not be out of stock in theory. In the centralized procurement in 2022, 10 companies won the bid for this product.
The seventh national centralized procurement document requires that "if the actual number of selected enterprises in the country is 4 or more, the procurement cycle of this round is 3 years in principle", and the centralized procurement cycle of oseltamivir phosphate capsules is 3 years. From 2022 to November 2025, during the one-week period, enterprises must ensure supply capacity and there should be no supply interruptions.
It should be reminded that although oseltamivir has a certain effect on inhibiting influenza A virus, it has a certain degree of drug resistance and should not be taken for a long time.
Shan Jielin, deputy chief pharmacist of Beijing Haidian Hospital, told *** about 1% 15% of A(H1N1)PDM09 isolates were resistant to oseltamivir, while both A(H3N2) and B influenza virus strains were susceptible to oseltamivir. She said that the general principle of application of other antiviral drugs is similar, do not take it when it is not necessary, take it according to the course of treatment, and do not take it for a long time. It is best to follow your doctor's advice or consult a pharmacist or doctor.