What are the domestic alternatives to cemiplimab?

Although Cemiplimab has not yet been launched in China, the rise of domestic innovative drugs in the field of immunotherapy means that Chinese patients do not lack alternatives. At present, a number of PD-1 inhibitors have been approved and widely used in China. The main indications cover cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), non-small cell lung cancer, liver cancer, esophageal cancer, etc. These drugs are clinically considered to be effective alternatives to Cemiplimab.

Among them, sintilimab is a domestically produced PD-1 drug that entered the market earlier. It has been approved for non-small cell lung cancer and Hodgkin lymphoma. Camrelizumab, with its wide range of indications, has a high frequency of application in the fields of liver cancer and esophageal cancer. Toripalimab is the first PD-1 inhibitor marketed in China, and its application scope has expanded from melanoma to lung cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer. Tislelizumab is also active and has made breakthroughs in lung cancer, esophageal cancer and other diseases.

In the treatment of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma, although cimepilimab is internationally considered to be the first PD-1 drug specifically targeting these skin malignancies, domestic doctors often choose other monoclonal antibodies for immunotherapy based on the overall condition of the patient. These domestically produced drugs are highly similar to Cemiplimab in their mechanism of action. They both restore the body's immune surveillance capabilities by blocking the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway, and therefore are highly substitutable.

In addition, the advantages of domestically produced PD-1 drugs are not only reflected in accessibility and price, but also in medical insurance coverage. With the advancement of the national negotiation mechanism, a number of domestically produced immune drugs have been included in the medical insurance catalog, greatly reducing the treatment burden on patients. This means that even if Cemiplimab has not yet been launched in China, patients can still obtain treatment opportunities that are synchronized with the international cutting-edge through domestic drugs.

Reference materials:https://www.libtayohcp.com/