Impact of National Drug Price Negotiation policy on the innovation performance of biopharmaceutical industry in China

作者：Yulu Zhu, Jiazhen Zhu, Xingyuan Gao, Yi Sun‡, Hongyu Yan, Wenmin Du, Ying Wang, Xin Li · 发表于：Frontiers in Public Health · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3389/fpubh.2025.1705030 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy、Innovation Policy and R&D、Biotechnology and Related Fields

Background: The National Drug Price Negotiation (NDPN) policy is a key institutional reform in China that reshaped drug market access rules. While its effects on drug prices and accessibility are well documented, evidence on firm-level innovation performance remains limited. This study evaluates the impact of the 2019 NDPN on the innovation performance of Chinese biopharmaceutical firms. Methods: We used quarterly panel data from 96 listed biopharmaceutical firms from 2018 Q1 to 2023 Q4. A difference-in-differences (DID) model combined with propensity score matching (PSM-DID) was employed to identify causal effects. Innovation performance was measured by R&D investment, patent application count, and overall growth score, with firm- and time-fixed effects as well as financial controls included. Robustness was assessed through parallel trend and placebo tests. Results: DID estimates show that firms with NRDL-included drugs significantly increased R&D investment (coefficient = 0.733) and patent application count (coefficient = 0.362). Overall growth score showed no short-term change. PSM-DID confirmed these findings, with R&D investment (coefficient = 0.693) and patent application count (coefficient = 0.272) both significantly improved. Conclusion: The NDPN policy significantly enhanced firms' innovation performance by increasing R&D investment and patent applications, though its effect on overall growth remains limited in the short term. These findings provide firm-level eviden...