On December 7, the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) officially unveiled the latest edition of the National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) for basic medical insurance, maternity insurance, and work-related injury insurance, along with the 2025 Commercial Health Insurance Innovative Drug Catalog. A total of 114 drugs were newly added to the NRDL, while 19 drugs were included in the first edition of the commercial insurance innovative drug catalog. This marks the eighth adjustment to the NRDL since the establishment of the NHSA and the first time a separate commercial insurance innovative drug catalog has been introduced alongside the basic NRDL. The updated NRDL will take effect on January 1, 2026.

At the 2025 High-Quality Innovative Drug Development Conference, Zhang Ke, Party Secretary and Director of the NHSA, stated that medical insurance funds, as the largest purchaser in China's pharmaceutical sector, have cumulatively spent approximately RMB 13 trillion during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, maintaining an average annual growth rate of over 10%. This has provided stable funding for innovation and injected sustained momentum into development. Zhang also highlighted that the NHSA has adjusted the NRDL for eight consecutive years, adding 949 new drugs in total, including this year. Medical insurance funds have spent over RMB 460 billion on negotiated drugs during their agreement periods, driving sales exceeding RMB 600 billion and promoting market transformation and iteration in the pharmaceutical industry.

The latest NRDL adjustment introduced 114 new drugs, including 50 Class 1 innovative drugs, while removing 29 drugs with no clinical supply or better alternatives. The updated NRDL includes drugs addressing gaps in basic medical coverage, such as treatments for major diseases like triple-negative breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, and lung cancer; rare disease medications like Langerhans cell histiocytosis and chelator-intolerant thalassemia; and chronic disease treatments for diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and autoimmune disorders. Among the newly added drugs in the basic NRDL, 50 are Class 1 innovative drugs, with an overall success rate of 88%, significantly higher than the 76% in 2024.

In the commercial insurance innovative drug catalog negotiations, all five highly anticipated CAR-T therapies were included, with multinational companies like Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson also securing entries for key products. In the basic NRDL, Hengrui Pharmaceuticals (600276.SH) successfully negotiated the inclusion of 10 drugs, including trastuzumab, while Innovent Biologics (01801) had seven innovative products (including new indications) added. High-profile treatments like Alzheimer's disease drugs were included in the commercial insurance catalog, alongside rare disease drugs such as velaglucerase alfa and lubiprostone tablets, addressing unmet clinical needs.

Analysts previously noted that most innovative drugs included in the NRDL and commercial insurance catalog are in the early stages of market expansion. With continued policy support, revenues for these drugs are expected to grow rapidly, benefiting patients and driving growth for related pharmaceutical companies. Cinda Securities believes the innovative drug sector will maintain its upward trend, noting that innovative drugs remain the most important theme in the pharmaceutical industry. After 2–3 months of adjustments, valuations, market expectations, and capital allocations have returned to relatively low levels, highlighting investment safety margins and return potential.

**Related Concept Stocks:** - **Luye Pharma (02186):** The company announced that five of its new products were successfully included in the 2025 NRDL or the Commercial Health Insurance Innovative Drug Catalog. These include Mepitiostane® (oxycodone-naloxone prolonged-release tablets) and Rebalex® (paliperidone palmitate injection (II)), newly added to the NRDL; Zanbixa® (lurbinectedin for injection) included in the commercial insurance catalog; and Bettaferon® (goserelin acetate microspheres for injection) and Rextoro® (risperidone microspheres for injection (II)), which were renewed in the NRDL. - **Henlius Biotech (02696):** The company announced that Fultinin® (fulvestrant citrate capsules) was included in the 2025 NRDL under Class B, approved for use in combination with fulvestrant for HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer in adults who progressed after endocrine therapy. The updated NRDL takes effect on January 1, 2026. - **Junshi Biosciences (01877):** The company announced that two new indications for toripalimab (brand name: Tuoyi®, code: JS001) and angoriximab (brand name: Junshida®, code: JS002) were included in the 2025 NRDL under Class B. The updated NRDL takes effect on January 1, 2026. - **Innovent Biologics (01801):** The company announced that seven innovative products were included in the 2025 NRDL, including Tyvyt® (sintilimab injection, anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody) with new indications, Xinfumin® (teprotumumab N01 injection, anti-IGF-1R monoclonal antibody), Ouyixin® (lirotinib tablets, EGFR TKI), Dabote® (fluzolexib tablets, KRAS G12C inhibitor), Dable® (taletrectinib capsules, ROS1 TKI), Ruituo® (selpercatinib capsules, RET inhibitor), and Jiepali® (pirtobrutinib tablets, BTK inhibitor). The updated NRDL takes effect on January 1, 2026.