China will lift its price controls on most medicines, except for narcotics and some psychiatric drugs, next month.
Starting June 1, prices will be decided by the market in hopes that a more market-driven system will keep medical costs in check, the National Development and Reform Commission announced Tuesday.
The regulator said it will leave the setting of drug prices to market competition while shifting to more supervisory role of market behavior.
China has vowed to ease government controls in a bid to bolster market competition. Chinese consumers have long complained of high medication costs.
In recent years the government launched a crackdown campaign to fight bribery by pharmaceutical companies which had inflated drug prices.
