Jane Chen / Shanghai Daily news

Starting today, prices of more than 200 anti-cancer medicines will go down with the largest cut up to one-third, today's Laodong Daily reported.
For example, price of a glossy ganoderma-based Chinese herbal drug, which is used to improve cancer patients' immune system, has fallen from the previous 1,590 yuan (US$192) every 10 small packages to 1,590 yuan every 15 packages, according to the new prices released by the local pricing authority.
This will help significantly relieve economic pressures on the patients and their families, whose long dependence on drugs usually mean a huge medicine bill.
Prices of cancer drugs have remained high due to the big investment in research, development and long period of clinical test before officially put in commercial use, said officials with the city's drug authority.
This price cut indicates the maturity of local cancer drug development and the pharmaceutical industry's success to control the cost, they noted.