The Change of Original- and Generic-Targeted Antitumor Drugs under the National Centralized Drug Procurement Policy in Hohhot: An Interrupted Time-Series Analysis

Background. This study aims to assess and explore the different effects of national centralized drug procurement (NCDP) on three targeted antitumor drugs’ use in clinical practice. Materials and Methods. Clinical drug volume data were collected covering 18 months before, during, and after the seventh round of the NCDP in Inner Mongolia. The interrupted time-series method was employed to estimate the net effect of policy impact. Results. The volume of generic afatinib (30 mg) increased by 25.78 DDDs, the expenditures decreased by 3641.14 yuan (p = 0.001), and the DDDc decreased by 124.35 yuan (p < 0.001). The volume of generic afatinib (40 mg) increased by 65.19 DDDs (p < 0.001), the expenditures increased by 1304.93 yuan (p < 0.001), and the DDDc decreased by 120.2 yuan (p < 0.001). The volume of generic sunitinib increased by 75.79 DDDs (p < 0.001), the expenditures decreased by 15869.78 yuan (p < 0.001), and the DDDc decreased by 243.28 yuan. There was no significant change trend in volume, expenditures, and DDDc of the three original-targeted drugs after NCDP intervention. Conclusions. After the policy intervention, generic afatinib (40 mg) successfully aligned with the objectives of NCDP by reducing drug costs and enhancing patient affordability; however, the desired outcomes were not achieved for generic afatinib (30 mg) and generic sunitinib. This discrepancy may be attributed to the inherent clinical efficacy and safety profiles of these drugs. Therefore, in implementing NCDP, it is necessary to enhance the clinical efficacy and safety of generic-targeted antitumor drugs while considering economic efficiency.