Routes of the same type are on the same row. Compare other markets.
10 pathway types exist in both markets: full application, new active substance, full or mixed application, known active substance, generic application, non-prescription application, conditional or accelerated approval, priority or accelerated review and more. The table lines up the routes of each type.
Japan: Approval of a drug with a new active ingredient, 365 days. China: Marketing authorization for an innovative drug, 200 days. These are official targets, not actual review times.
| Pathway type | Japan | China |
|---|---|---|
| Full application, new active substance | Approval of a drug with a new active ingredientArticle 14 approval · target 365 days · fee ¥36,538,400 Approval of a regenerative medical product (cell or gene therapy)Article 23-25 · target 365 days · fee ¥18,803,400 | Marketing authorization for an innovative drugChemical category 1; therapeutic biologic category 1 · target 200 days · fee CN¥593,900 Vaccine registrationPreventive biologic categories 1 to 3 · target 200 days |
| Full or mixed application, known active substance |
Not legal or regulatory advice. Check the current official rules before you act. Parts of the approvals data are official open data reused under open licences. Data sources.
Improved new drug (known active substance)Chemical category 2; therapeutic biologic category 2 · target 200 days |
| Generic application | Approval of a generic prescription drugArticle 14 approval · target 304 days · fee ¥649,100 | Generic chemical drugChemical categories 3, 4 and 5.2 · target 200 days · fee CN¥502,000 · relies on EU, US, JP |
| Biosimilar application | Approval of a biosimilarApplication category (7) | - |
| Non-prescription application | Approval of a non-prescription drug (including switch OTC)OTC application categories (1) to (8) · target 365 days · fee ¥1,627,300 | Nonprescription (OTC) drug applicationtarget 200 days |
| Conditional or accelerated approval | Conditional approvalArticle 14-2-2 and 23-2-6-2 Conditional and time-limited approval of a regenerative medical productArticle 23-26 · fee ¥9,411,700 |
| Priority or accelerated review | Priority reviewArticle 14(11), 23-2-5(11) and 23-25 · target 274 days | Priority review and approvaltarget 130 days |
| Intensive development support designation | Pioneering product designation (SAKIGAKE)Article 77-2(2) · target 183 days |
| Orphan or rare disease designation | Orphan designationArticle 77-2(1) · fee ¥30,618,800 | - |
| Emergency or temporary authorisation | Special approval for emergencies (based on foreign approval)Article 14-3 · relies on US, GB, CA, DE, FR Emergency approval (time-limited)Article 14-2-2-2 and 23-26-2 |
| Early or compassionate access | - | Hong Kong and Macao drugs and devices in the Greater Bay Areatarget 5 days · relies on HK, MO |
| Reliance route, abridged review | Fast priority review of a product already sold abroad during a supply shortageArticle 14(9) and 23-2-5(9) · relies on US, GB, CA, DE, FR | - |
| Device: premarket notification | Notification of a Class I device or a low-risk IVDArticle 23-2-12 |
| Device: premarket approval by the regulator | Approval of a new medical deviceArticle 23-2-5 · target 426 days · fee ¥16,431,300 Approval of an improved medical deviceArticle 23-2-5 · target 304 days · fee ¥9,381,400 Approval of a generic (equivalent) medical deviceArticle 23-2-5 · target 122 days · fee ¥2,244,900 Approval of an in vitro diagnosticArticle 23-2-5 · target 213 days | - |
| Device: conformity assessment by a certification body | Third-party certification by a registered certification bodyArticle 23-2-23 | - |
| Device: registration or licence with the regulator | - | Class II device and IVD registrationtarget 60 days · fee CN¥210,900 Class III device and IVD registrationtarget 90 days · fee CN¥308,800 |
| Device: breakthrough or priority program | - |
| Other route | Approval held by a foreign manufacturer through a designated marketing authorization holderArticles 19-2, 23-2-17 and 23-37 Specific-use product designationArticle 77-2(3) |