Recently, the Intellectual Property Office of Jiangsu Province and the Jiangsu Provincial Healthcare Security Administration jointly issued the Notice on Strengthening Intellectual Property Protection in the Field of Centralized Drug Procurement (hereinafter referred to as the Notice). By establishing and refining a full-cycle “Commitment–Verification–Disposition” IP protection mechanism, the Notice provides a “Jiangsu Solution” for the targeted prevention and efficient resolution of patent disputes arising in centralized drug procurement.

Focusing on the key IP challenges in centralized drug procurement, the Notice introduces three innovative mechanisms. First, it establishes a source-level commitment system to reinforce enterprises’ primary responsibilities. The Notice stipulates that enterprises participating in Jiangsu’s volume-based procurement or applying for product listing on procurement platforms must undertake that their products do not violate the Patent Law of the People’s Republic of China and other applicable laws and regulations. Enterprises that have submitted a “Type-III Patent Statement” during the drug marketing authorization application (i.e., committing not to market their generic drugs during the validity of relevant patents) must further undertake that such statement has been made and provide proof that the patent has expired, has been invalidated, or that they have obtained a license from the patentee for implementation. This arrangement helps bridge information gaps between regulatory review and procurement listing. Second, Jiangsu will establish a rapid-response system to enhance the efficiency of dispute resolution. According to the Notice, Jiangsu will set up the Technical Investigation Center of Intellectual Property in Jiangsu Province to provide professional technical determinations for patent infringement disputes arising in centralized drug procurement. A fast-track administrative adjudication channel will also be created to simplify hearing procedures and shorten the time required for case conclusion. Meanwhile, the Notice encourages and organizes parties involved in patent infringement disputes to resolve conflicts through voluntary settlement or administrative mediation, thereby improving the efficiency of dispute resolution. Third, Jiangsu will strengthen coordinated regulatory enforcement to establish a sustainable protection mechanism. The Notice states that the two departments will enhance joint handling of patent infringement cases and promptly adopt measures such as delisting products from procurement networks or cancelling winning-bid qualifications to stop infringement. Through interdepartmental collaboration, a closed-loop supervision framework of “information sharing – professional determination – rapid disposition” will be established. On this basis, Jiangsu will further strengthen risk assessment for key products by identifying pharmaceuticals with high sales volumes or significant market attention, assessing infringement risks, and analyzing emerging infringement patterns in the industry, thereby fostering an environment that respects innovation and protects intellectual property rights.

As a major province in the biopharmaceutical industry, Jiangsu held 46,200 invention patents in its biopharmaceutical cluster as of July 2025, ranking first nationwide. By improving IP protection mechanisms and workflows, the Notice directly responds to the needs of innovative drug companies seeking to safeguard R&D achievements and of generic drug companies seeking to accelerate product launching, thereby further standardizing balanced development and orderly competition between innovative and generic medicines.