Is cimepilimab included in medical insurance?

Cemiplimab (Cemiplimab) is an immunotherapy drug that treats various skin cancers and lung cancers by mobilizing the patient's own immune system. It is primarily used to treat cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), a type of skin cancer that has usually spread to other parts of the body or in which the patient is not a candidate for radiation or surgery. In addition, cimepilimab is also indicated for locally advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC), that is, those cases that cannot be removed by surgery, or metastatic BCC that has spread to other parts of the body. Cimepilimab is an important treatment option for patients already treated with a hedgehog pathway inhibitor (HHI).

In lung cancer, cimipilimab is used as a treatment option for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), especially when the cancer has not spread to other organs (locally advanced NSCLC) and the patient cannot undergo surgery or radiation therapy, or when the cancer has metastasized. For metastatic NSCLC, the condition for the use of cimepilimab is that the tumor does not show abnormal "EGFR", "ALK" or "ROS1" gene mutations. The drug can be used in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy drugs or as a single agent when high levels of PD-L1 positivity are detected in tumors. Although cimepilimab has shown remarkable efficacy in the treatment of cancer, its side effects require attention. It may trigger the patient's immune system to attack its normal organs and tissues, thereby affecting their function.

China has not yet ushered in the launch of cimepril monoclonal generic drug, so it is not included in its medical insurance directory. However, in the overseas pharmaceutical market, the American and European versions of cimipilimab are already on the shelves. The common specifications are 350mg/7mL (concentration 50mg/mL). The selling price of each box may be between 40,000 and 100,000 yuan due to exchange rate changes. In addition, as of now, there are no generic drugs of cimepilimab on the market.

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