China's economic planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission, has announced plans to lower retail prices on 260 Western-style medicines in its latest effort to provide more affordable drugs.

The prices of ten kinds of medicines including digestive system medicine, respiratory system medicine, anti-verminosis medicine and alexipharmic pills will be adjusted. The price cuts, averaging 19%, would save consumers a total of about RMB5 billion and are effective as of May 15, 2007. Some medicines would see price cuts of up to 62%.

NDRC said that prices of 18 drugs that are in short supply would be raised "moderately" in order to encourage production and supply.

Since the start of 2006, the central government has lowered prices of more than 900 drugs and raised the costs of more than 70 cheap medicines. So far, about 1,500 medicines have had their prices fixed by the central government and the prices of more than 800 drugs are determined by local governments.

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