What is the approximate cost of one year’s treatment with Zotuximab/Veloximab?

Zolbetuximab (zolbetuximab)-Vyloy is a monoclonal antibody targeting EGFR. It is used to treat a variety of solid tumors. It has shown certain efficacy in combination with chemotherapy in patients with gastric cancer . Clinically, zotuximab is usually used in combination with fluoropyrimidine-containing and platinum-based chemotherapy. The initial intravenous dose is 800 mg per square meter, followed by a maintenance dose of 600 mg per square meter every three weeks or 400 mg per square meter every two weeks depending on the protocol. This dosage schedule is individually adjusted based on the patient's body surface area to ensure optimal drug concentration while minimizing side effects.

From a price perspective, zotuximab is already available as an original drug in the international market, including European and Japanese versions. The common specifications are 100 mg per box, and the price per box is usually around RMB 7,000, but the price may change due to exchange rate fluctuations and differences in import policies. Calculated based on standard body surface area, an adult patient usually requires multiple boxes of zotuximab to complete the full course of treatment within one year, so the overall treatment cost may be in the range of several hundred thousand yuan. This cost only includes the drug itself and does not include additional costs such as hospital infusion, monitoring, and auxiliary medication.

In the domestic market, zotuximab has been approved for marketing, but the price is still affected by import costs and hospital pricing policies, and most patients need to pay for it at their own expense. For patients and medical institutions, understanding the overall cost of treatment for one year can help to rationally arrange economic budgets while weighing efficacy and accessibility in clinical decisions. Although the price is higher, in some patients with advanced cancer, zotuximab combined with chemotherapy can delay disease progression and improve quality of life, so it still has high clinical value. In the future, as generic drugs and biosimilar drugs are launched one after another, treatment costs are expected to gradually decrease, thus benefiting more patients.

Reference materials:https://www.astellas.com/en/news/29401