After consulting the draft list in early November, China National Medical Products Administration issued the List of Drug Banned from Online Sales (1st Version). The list took effect on the same day as the Administrative Measures for Supervising Online Sales of Drugs came into force on Dec. 1, 2022.
The banned drugs are divided into two general categories. Compared to the draft list, the formal list specifies the category 2.2 banned drugs as shown in the table below. Other categories stay the same.
List of Drugs Banned from Online Sales in China (1st Version) | ||
Category 1 | Vaccines, blood products, anesthetics, psychotropic drugs, toxic drugs for medical use, radioactive drugs, medical precursor chemicals, preparations made and used only in medical institutions, and TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) granules. | |
Category 2 | 2.1 | Injections (except drugs for reducing the glycemic level) |
2.2 | i. Combination drugs that contain ephedrine (except Chinese patent medicines containing Ephedra sinica); ii. Oral combination drugs that contain anesthetics; iii. Oral combination drugs that contain tramadol; iv. Oral single agent of dextromethorphan. | |
2.3 | Anabolic steroids and peptide hormones (except insulins) listed in Stimulant Catalog. | |
2.4 | Drugs with high risks: i. Digoxin, disopyramide, quinidine, prazosin, procainamide, propafenone, amiodarone, quinine, aminophylline, choline theophyllinate, isoprenaline; ii. Phenytoin sodium, carbamazepine, lamotrigine, chloral hydrate, dabigatran etexilate, warfarin, ticagrelor, cilostazol, primidone, lithium carbonate, isoflurane, sevoflurane, enflurane, desflurane, colchicine; iii. Mifepristone, compound mifepristone, cyproterone, carboprost methylate, estradiol, misoprostol, dinoprostone; iv. Faropenem, fusidic acid, voriconazole, linezolid, nemonoxacin, posaconazole, cefdinir, itraconazole, levornidazole, cefpodoxime axetil. | |
NMPA also added two notes:
(1) TCM granules refer to the granules made of single TCM decoction pieces through water extraction, separation, concentration, drying, and granulation. They must be formulated according to clinical prescription under the guidance of TCM theory, and then dissolved in water before being taken by patients.
(2) Category 2.4 lists the generic name of drugs and are limited to single agents. Anti-bacterial drugs in the category do not include drugs for external use.
