China adjusts pricing policy for cheaper drugs

China has adjusted its policy on pricing cheaper drugs sold in the country, allowing drugmakers more leeway in deciding how much to charge for their treatments in the face of rising costs. Prices will be capped at 3 yuan ($0.48) per daily dosage for Western drugs, and 5 yuan for traditional Chinese medicine. Previously, China set individual price caps for over 2,000 drugs covered by national health insurance. \"Compared with high-priced drugs, the profitability of cheap medicine is low, which limits the (drugmakers') ability to absorb rising costs,\" the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement posted on its website on Thursday.