Incomplete inventory of sky-high drugs

WenMuyi

When demand meets the market and cost meets responsibility, the price becomes particularly eye-catching.

Recently, Fosun Kate's CAR-T cell therapy product, Akilunsai injection (Yikaida®), was approved for marketing.

Since Novartis’ Zolgensma aspired to be the most expensive drug in history with a price of $2.

Top 10 most expensive drugs in the world in 2021

Novartis' gene therapy Zolgensma for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy topped the list with a price of $2.

Data source: GoodRx

Zokinvy was just approved for listing in November 2020.

Danyelza is also a newcomer

High price preference for "orphans"

As can be seen from the table below, the sky-high-priced drugs are all orphan drugs without exception

The main cost composition of sky-high drugs

(According to transaction information and company announcements)

Because Europe and the United States have passed the Orphan Drug Act, registration approval has been given a fast track, which reduces the time cost.

Cell therapy enters the "high-end game"

Yikaida® is an industrialized CAR-T cell therapy product in China by Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) of the United States Kite company.

In 2017, Fosun Pharmaceutical Industry and Kite Pharma jointly invested in the establishment of Fosun Kite and introduced Yescarta technology.

April 2017

Kite Pharma and Shanghai Fosun Pharma cooperate to establish Fosun Kite Biotechnology Co.

December 2017

Fosun Kate's cell therapy industrialization base was designed and completed in accordance with the National Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and completed its verification

May 2018

Submitted a new drug clinical trial (IND) application for FKC876 to the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the State Food and Drug Administration

October 2018

The clinical research of Fosun Kate FKC876 passed the approval of the Office of Human Genetic Resources of China

November 2018

China's first subject enrolled

December 2019

The clinical enrollment is completed and the production base is opened

February 2020

The new drug listing application (NDA) of Akirensai was accepted by the NMPA

March 2020

Achilles race was included in the priority judging

December 2020

The commercial production base passed the on-site inspection of GMP compliance by Shanghai Drug Administration

In June 2021, Yikaida (Akilunsai injection) was approved for listing

In 2017, Gilead did not hesitate to invest 12 billion U.

Yescarta is priced overseas at US$373,000 (approximately RMB 2.

Yescarta achieved a sales performance of US$456 million in 2019.

Different from the high-priced drugs listed above, the currently approved cell therapy product indications cannot be regarded as rare diseases.

Summarize

It's too expensive to be cured by the poor

It's too cheap for pharmaceutical companies to research and develop
.

At present, the reasons for the excessively high drug prices are mainly composed of several factors including fewer patients, small market and high cost
.
The sky-high price drugs also have relative advantages such as one-time cure and installment payment
.
Through horizontal comparison, domestic high-priced drugs are objectively lower than overseas prices.
However, considering the gaps in per capita income and medical insurance coverage, it is difficult to say what advantages Chinese patients have in terms of drug accessibility
.

Do you remember the 20,000 yuan big brother in the 90s? According to the current foreseeable trends, the cost of innovative drugs will gradually decrease with the iterative technological advancement and the expansion of the market scale; while orphan drugs need to be supplemented by policies such as assistance programs, medical insurance coverage, innovative payment models, and commercial insurance.
Continuously improve
.

The country’s attention to the availability of high-priced drugs is also gradually increasing.
According to the “2021 National Medical Insurance Drug List Adjustment Work Plan (Draft for Solicitation of Comments)” published by the National Medical Insurance Administration, from January 1, 2016 to June 2021, New drugs listed on the 30th of October can be declared to be added to the medical insurance catalog.
If Yikaida and others have the opportunity to participate in a new round of medical insurance negotiations, under the domestic collection trend, they will eventually embark on the road of price reduction, just like other high-priced drugs.
Benefit patients
.

After all, for the patients in it, the hope of a cure is more important than anything else.
Every life cannot be measured by money
.