Is Polatuzumab included in the medical insurance catalog?

Polatuzumab/Polatuzumab is an antibody-drug conjugate that has received widespread attention in the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in recent years. It can recognize and kill malignant B cells by combining monoclonal antibodies with cytotoxic small molecules. With the accumulation of clinical application data, this drug has gradually entered the treatment guidelines of many countries around the world.

In China, vepotuzumab has completed marketing approval and has been included in the medical insurance reimbursement catalog, which is undoubtedly an important benefit for patients. The domestic specification is 30mg, and the market price is about RMB 10,000. However, after medical insurance reimbursement, the actual cost borne by patients will drop significantly. The specific reimbursement ratio and payment standards are closely related to local medical insurance policies, so patients need to consult with the medical insurance department in their city or the department of the designated hospital before taking medicine. The scope of indications included in the medical insurance include two major categories: one is adult patients with previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and the other is adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who are not suitable for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This means that both newly diagnosed people and patients who have received multiple lines of treatment but with poor results have the opportunity to use this new drug through medical insurance channels.

Compared with traditional chemotherapy, the characteristic of vepotuzumab is "precision". Its antibody part can specifically recognize the B cell surface marker CD79b, and the cytotoxic drug monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) it carries can directly destroy the microtubule structure of cancer cells, thereby achieving targeted killing. Due to its reasonable design, this mechanism can reduce the impact on normal cells and reduce the broad-spectrum toxicity associated with some chemotherapy.

Reference materials:https://www.drugs.com/polivy.html