Several Indian pharmaceutical companies—including Cipla Ltd, Hetero Labs Limited, Natco Pharma Limited, and Annora Pharma Private Limited—have won bids to supply generic medicines to public hospitals in China under the country’s volume-based procurement (VBP) programme. 

The tender process, overseen by China’s National Healthcare Security Administration, covered 55 drugs spanning anti-infectives, oncology, allergy and other therapeutic areas. From 272 pre-selected firms and 453 products, Indian companies secured contracts for seven medicines. Cipla and Hetero secured bids to supply a billion tablets of dapagliflozin—a diabetes drug whose hospital sales in China exceeded 5.35 billion yuan in 2024. Natco won a contract to supply olaparib tablets, and Annora Pharma clinched a bid for oxcarbazepine tablets. 

Analysts consider these wins a meaningful entry point into China’s tightly regulated pharmaceutical market, historically dominated by local and multinational firms. The VBP system offers significant volume but also demands steep pricing, creating a cost-led competition landscape where cost-leadership and rapid market registration are critical for foreign generics players.