The Beijing government announced plans for a whitelist to expedite the import of orphan drugs approved overseas but not yet registered in China at a news conference Friday. The whitelist covers medical institutions, urgent orphan drugs and import companies, with the aim of reducing patient wait times.

Within the whitelist, medical institutions may submit drug applications. Import companies will benefit from a shortened approval, with warehouses in the Beijing Tianzhu Comprehensive Bonded Zone to ensure stable drug supplies.

"It is a shift from patients waiting for drugs to drugs waiting for patients", said Cao Wei, head of the Beijing Municipal Medical Products Administration.

Du Bin, deputy director of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, said: "We have already applied to the Beijing Municipal Medical Products Administration for more than 50 urgently needed orphan drugs."

Vosoritide, an urgently needed drug for achondroplasia in children, was previously imported by temporary applications, causing delays. Beijing Children's Hospital Ni Xin explained: "Thanks to earlier facilitation policies in Beijing, it now takes about 30 working days for the hospital to access the drug, and the whitelist will further speed up the process."

The bonded zone will soon finalize and release the first batch of companies on the whitelist, according to its management.

Liu Boqian contributed to the story.