Novartis: the most expensive leukemic drug in China

Source: People's daily.com 2015-1-12 the first case of overseas drug purchase in China at the end of last year attracted much attention Lu Yong, a chronic myeloid leukemia patient, helped thousands of patients buy the overseas anti-cancer drug "Gleevec" for using the credit card purchased online, and was prosecuted by Yuanjiang Procuratorate of Hunan Province for suspected "crime of interfering with credit card management" and "crime of selling fake drugs" However, more than 300 leukaemia patients wrote a letter asking the judiciary to exempt Lu Yong from criminal punishment According to Lu Yong, the reason why "Gleevec" generic drugs are purchased overseas is that their efficacy is similar, but the price difference at home and abroad is too big In view of the price and use of leukemia drugs at home and abroad, people's network reporters in various countries visited local pharmacies for investigation Genuine anticancer drug Gleevec: nearly half of the price in the United States is cheap It is known as the "miracle anticancer drug" Gleevec is internationally recognized as the first-line treatment drug for chronic myeloid leukemia, which can effectively prolong the life of patients, but patients need to take it for a long time, one box per month (120 Capsules, 100mg per capsule) According to the survey, the price of each box of Gleevec produced by Novartis in China is about 23000-25800 yuan In recent years, the price has been stable with little reduction In Hong Kong, China, the price is 17000-19000 yuan per box, while in the United States, the price is 13600 yuan per box According to the reporter's on-the-spot visit, the mainstream pharmacies in Australia also sell greavel, which is produced by Novartis Because the drug is a prescription drug, it must be purchased with a prescription issued by a doctor Australia sells for 10616 yuan per box, compared with 188.5 yuan for local residents Novartis' Gleevec is also a relatively expensive anticancer drug in Japan The price of each box is about 16440 yuan With medical insurance, the price of each box is 6240 yuan It is understood that Novartis' annual sales in Japan can reach 40 billion yen (about 2 billion yuan) "For the sake of health, the society of pharmacists" and "health world website" and other public groups in South Korea have advocated that the price of Gleevec should be reduced by 37.5-96.7% However, Novartis said: "in more than 30 countries in the world, South Korea has the lowest price of Gleevec." At present, the retail price of each box of Gleevec in South Korea is 9720 yuan According to the survey, China's price is the highest among the Novartis of Switzerland sold in the world, with a maximum price of more than 10000 yuan per box higher than that of South Korea "It is a common phenomenon that drugs in mainland China are more expensive than those in other countries Drugs in Hong Kong are also cheaper than those in mainland China." Zhuang Yiqiang, Deputy Secretary General of the Chinese Hospital Association, said in an interview that Swiss drugs are protected by patents in the United States and China, but the United States is nearly half cheaper than China This reflects the inflated pricing of Chinese drugs In addition, China's imported drugs have an import tariff, plus the cost of the intermediate circulation link, so the price is high "The tariff on imported drugs in China is generally 5-8 percentage points China is a drug sales subcontracting system If it enters the hospital, it needs to add 15 points That's why overseas buying on behalf of others is very popular " An insider told the media With little success, India's "generic drugs" have become popular in China Novartis, Switzerland, sells for more than 20000 yuan a box, which is undoubtedly a high price for ordinary people South Korean citizen groups continue to call on Novartis to reduce drug prices: "Novartis has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in all research and development costs The price of Gleevec is considered to be higher than normal, which greatly affects the health insurance decision, so it must be lowered " In response, Novartis said it had implemented price reduction or assistance projects in many countries Since September 2003, Novartis has tried to reduce drug prices, launched the global patient assistance program (GIPAP) in China, and launched "buy three get nine" and other preferential activities But even so, a patient still needs to spend at least 70000 yuan every year to take the genuine greavel Due to the need for long-term medication, the high price of Novartis makes most patients with chronic leukemia unable to afford As a result, many patients in China directly or indirectly purchase a generic drug (commonly known as India's "Gleevec") that imitates the Swiss Novartis pharmaceutical company Gleevec from India Compared with Novartis genuine drugs in Switzerland, the biggest feature of Indian generic drugs is that they are reliable in efficacy, affordable to the people, and affordable to the general public The price of each box of generic drugs directly purchased by patients through Indian pharmaceutical companies is only 200 yuan, only one percent of the regular imported drugs of Novartis The Korean leukaemia Association once took India and Switzerland two kinds of Gleevec to carry on the comparative test, the result indicated that the similarity of drug-resistance was 99.9% In terms of cost performance, Indian generic drugs have considerable advantages, but the biggest problem is that India's Gleevec has not been approved by China's national drug regulatory authorities, which is theoretically a "fake drug" These so-called "fake drugs" have been approved in India and are legal "real drugs" India's patent protection law is relatively loose, and the Indian government has implemented "compulsory licensing" as required, so it can produce a large number of anti-cancer generic drugs In 2006, Novartis suing the Indian government and patent office failed Prior to the expiration of Novartis' patent in China, there was no similar domestic generic drug in China After 2013, the generic drugs of Tianqing and hausen pharmaceutical industry in China were on the market The price of Zhengda Tianqing's Gleevec is 4200 yuan per box, and that of hausen pharmaceutical is 3800 yuan per box, which is still much higher than that of India's 200 yuan per box For the vast majority of patients, on the one hand, as the first choice drug for leukemia treatment, Gleevec has lengthened the life cycle of patients and provided the possibility of "life"; on the other hand, the price of authentic drugs in a box of more than 20000 yuan in mainland China makes most patients unable to buy, so they have to turn to life-saving "fake drugs" "Imported Gleevec is expensive and can't afford to die The emergence of generic drugs in India has increased the courage to live Please give CML patients some ways to live, people-oriented is the right way," Yang wrote in a joint letter