Durvalumab cost per year

Durvalumab/Durvalumab is a new type of immune checkpoint inhibitor that mainly enhances the killing effect of T cells on tumor cells by blocking the PD-L1 pathway. The pricing of this type of immunotherapy drugs has always been relatively high. On the one hand, it reflects the research and development costs and clinical value. On the other hand, it is also affected by whether the drugs are included in medical insurance and procurement channels. In China, durvalumab has been approved for marketing, but it has not yet been fully included in the medical insurance catalog. Therefore, the financial burden on patients is still considerable at self-pay. Common specifications currently on the market include 120mg/2.4mL and 500mg/10mL, with prices ranging from 4,000 yuan to tens of thousands of yuan per box.

Taking neoadjuvant treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer as an example, the conventional regimen is 1500 mg once every three weeks, for up to four cycles. If calculated based on current pricing, immunotherapy in the neoadjuvant phase alone may cost tens of thousands of yuan. For some patients who require continuous maintenance treatment, the cost of treatment for one year has increased significantly, which may be as high as hundreds of thousands of yuan. Compared with some immunological drugs already included in medical insurance, the economic accessibility of durvalumab needs to be further improved.

From the international market,Durvalumab’s pricing in Europe and the United States is also not low. However, due to different medical insurance coverage and commercial insurance policies in different countries, the actual burden varies greatly. Some developed countries have reduced patient out-of-pocket costs through negotiation or insurance coverage. In China, with the advancement of the national medical insurance negotiation mechanism, durvalumab is expected to gradually enter the medical insurance catalog like other immunotherapy drugs in the future, thereby significantly reducing the financial pressure on patients.

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