Source: National High-Value Medical Consumables Joint Procurement Office

On January 13, the sixth batch of national high-value medical consumables centralized volume-based procurement (hereinafter referred to as "centralized procurement") opened in Tianjin, yielding the selection results. This centralized procurement covered two major categories of 12 types of medical consumables: drug-coated balloons and urological interventional devices. A total of 496 products from 227 enterprises bid, with 440 products from 202 enterprises selected. Mainstream enterprises with large hospital procurement volumes actively participated and were selected, ensuring a rich and diverse product supply.

Drug-coated balloons improve vascular stenosis by dilating blood vessels and releasing drugs. They can be categorized into coronary balloons and peripheral vascular balloons based on vascular location. Their inclusion in this centralized procurement effectively complements the previously centralized coronary stents and peripheral vascular stents. All 42 products from 32 enterprises bidding for drug-coated balloons were selected, achieving a high degree of alignment with clinical usage while reducing the financial burden on patients. Urological interventional consumables are used in stone removal surgeries for kidney and ureteral stone patients. Different surgical approaches require different types of consumables, involving complex product specifications—this was previously a "blank area" for centralized procurement. For urological interventional consumables, 454 products from 195 enterprises bid, with 398 products from 170 enterprises selected. Additionally, manufacturers of special-function products such as drug-scored balloons and pressure-measuring flexible ureteroscope catheters were all selected, effectively meeting the needs of special clinical scenarios.

This centralized procurement implemented the deployment requirements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on optimizing centralized procurement policies, embodying the principles of "stabilizing clinical use, ensuring quality, countering excessive competition, and preventing bid rigging." First, grouped competition ensures continuity of clinical use. Each product category was divided into bidding groups based on hospital procurement volume and national supply capability, ensuring that products with high clinical recognition and strong supply capabilities were selected, thereby stabilizing clinical usage. Second, full consideration was given to functional differences of special products. Adapting to the characteristics of frequent "micro-innovations" in the consumables sector, differentiated products with certain functional innovations were assigned price comparison coefficients based on clinical value, reasonably reflecting price differences and enriching clinical options. Third, selection rules were optimized with a clear stance against excessive competition. Instead of simply using the lowest bid to calculate price differences, when the lowest bid was excessively low, 65% of the average入围 price was used as the benchmark for price difference control. Among the 20 competition groups in this centralized procurement, 8 groups triggered this rule, playing an important role in preventing individual enterprises from driving down overall group prices through abnormally low bids.

Since 2020, healthcare security departments have conducted six batches of national high-value medical consumables centralized procurement, successfully procuring 142 types of medical consumables across 9 major categories, involving primary clinical fields including cardiology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, vascular surgery, otolaryngology, and urology. Following the announcement of this selection result, the official release will be made shortly, with implementation expected around May 2026. At that time, a broad range of patients will have access to high-quality, affordable centralized procurement products.