How much does it cost to buy a box of Larotinib/Larotinib in 2024? Is there any medical insurance?

Larotrectinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor currently used to treat adult and pediatric patients with solid tumors that may have a neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase (NTRK) gene fusion but no known acquired resistance mutations; may be metastatic, or for which surgical resection may result in significant morbidity, for which there are no satisfactory alternative therapies, or who have progressed after treatment. Larotrectinibis marketed under the trade namesVITRAKVI and Vitaka.

In clinical studies, Larotinib's overall effectiveness against different types of solid tumors was 75%. The responses were long-lasting, with 73% lasting at least six months and 39% lasting a year or more when the results were analyzed. Examples of tumor types with NTRK fusions that respond to larotrectinib include soft tissue sarcoma, salivary gland cancer, infantile fibrosarcoma, thyroid cancer, and lung cancer. Larotrectinib also received accelerated approval, which allows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve drugs for serious diseases that address unmet medical needs using clinical trial data that are thought to predict clinical benefit to patients.

Although the original drug larotrectinib has been launched in the domestic market, unfortunately, it has not yet been included in the medical insurance system. Products of different specifications are expensive: A box of 100mg 56-capsule capsules costs more than 70,000 yuan, while a box of 50ml:1.0g oral liquid costs more than 20,000 yuan per box. In comparison, the price of the Hong Kong version capsules is slightly lower, about 20,000 yuan per box. Overseas, the US, European and German versions of larotrectinib capsules are priced at approximately RMB 20,000 per box, and the oral liquid version is approximately over RMB 10,000. However, please note that exchange rate changes may affect these prices.

In addition, there are also generic drugs of larotrectinib in overseas markets, such as products produced in Bangladesh and Laos. Their ingredients are similar to the original drug and the price is more affordable, costing only more than 2,000 yuan per box. However, the price may also fluctuate due to exchange rates.