Promotion of prescription medicines — China
Regulator: 国家薬品監督管理局（NMPA） ／ Main law: 広告法・薬品管理法・薬品広告審査弁法
The basics (source-verified)
Pre-review & approval
Advertisements for medical services, drugs and medical devices must be reviewed as to content by the advertising review authority before publication, and may not be published without such review.
Promotion to HCPs
A prescription drug advertisement must prominently bear the statement 'this advertisement is for reading by medical and pharmaceutical professionals only' (Advertising Law article 16(3) and article 5(2) of the Interim Measures for the Administration of the Review of Advertisements for Drugs, Medical Devices, Health Foods and Formula Foods for Special Medical Purposes). Article 22 of the Interim Measures provides that, apart from the products for which advertising is prohibited outright by article 21, advertisements for prescription drugs may be published only in the medical and pharmaceutical professional publications jointly designated by the health administration department and the drug regulatory department of the State Council; it also forbids using the name of a prescription drug to title or sponsor activities, and forbids using a trade mark or company trade name identical to a prescription drug name in media other than those professional publications as a disguised form of advertising. Article 2(2) forbids publishing such advertisements without review; article 9 requires the advertisement approval number to be prominently shown; article 16 requires the review to be completed within ten working days of acceptance; and article 20 requires publication exactly as approved, without editing, splicing or modification. Article 11(2) prohibits using the name or image of research institutions, academic bodies, trade associations, or of experts, scholars, physicians, pharmacists, clinical dietitians or patients, as a recommendation or proof. Article 21 prohibits advertising altogether for narcotic drugs, psychotropic drugs, medicinal toxic drugs, radiopharmaceuticals, precursor chemicals, drugs and devices for treating drug dependence, drugs for special military needs and preparations compounded by military medical institutions, and preparations compounded by medical institutions. Under article 29, a breach of article 11(1), article 21 or article 22 is punished in accordance with article 57 of the Advertising Law.
Direct-to-consumer
Narcotic, psychotropic, medically toxic and radioactive drugs and other special drugs, drug precursor chemicals and detoxification products may not be advertised at all, and other prescription drugs may only be advertised in medical and pharmaceutical professional publications jointly designated by the State Council health administration and the State Council drug regulator.
Digital & social media
It is prohibited to publish prescription drug advertisements via the internet, unless laws or administrative regulations provide otherwise.
Efficacy claims
Advertisements for medical services, drugs and medical devices must not contain assertions or guarantees of efficacy or safety, nor state cure rates or effectiveness rates, and the content of a drug advertisement must not be inconsistent with the package insert approved by the drug regulator.
Safety information
A drug advertisement must prominently state the contraindications and the adverse reactions.
Comparative claims
Advertisements for medical services, drugs and medical devices must not contain comparisons with the efficacy or safety of other drugs or medical devices, or with other medical institutions.
Enforcement & penalties
Publishing a medical, drug or medical device advertisement in breach of article 16 attracts an order to stop publication and eliminate the effects, a fine of one to three times the advertising cost (or 100,000 to 200,000 yuan where the cost cannot be calculated), and in serious cases three to five times the cost (or 200,000 to 1,000,000 yuan), possible revocation of the business licence, revocation of the advertising approval document and refusal to accept further advertising review applications for one year.
Laws & regulations 1
- Laws & regulations2026-07-13cnpharm.comNew regulations come into effect on July 15th! What behaviors of pharmaceutical companies will be listed on the list of serious violations of laws and dishonesty?7月15日新规落地！医药企业哪些行为会登上严重违法失信名单？
Notices & guidance 0
- None yet (collected weekly)
Industry codes & rules 0
- None yet (collected weekly)
Litigation 2
- Litigation2026-09-22光明网Accepted 46 bribes in 11 years, with a total amount of 184 million yuan involved. A hospital in Hebei has been "hunted" by more than 30 pharmaceutical companies for a long time11年受贿46次 涉案金额累计1.84亿元 河北一医院被30多家药企长期“围猎”
- Litigation2026-09-13珠海网The National Medical Insurance Administration announced a commercial bribery case involving medical institutions in the purchase and sale of medicines国家医保局公布医疗机构涉医药购销商业贿赂案
Case law 0
- None yet (collected weekly)
Legal commentary 1
- Legal commentary2002-01-01Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University)U.S. Drug Manufacturers Beware: Application of the PRC Antibribery Law to Drug Marketing and Promotional Practices in China
Industry-association papers 0
- None yet (collected weekly)