How much does a box of Serpatinib cost in 2024?

Selpercatinib, also known as LOXO-292, is a selective RET inhibitor used to treat cancers with RET gene fusions or mutations. RET (rearranged oncogene) is a proto-oncogene that encodes a transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinase involved in cell growth and differentiation. In some cancer types, mutations or gene fusions occur in the RET gene, causing it to become abnormally activated, driving the growth and spread of cancer cells.

Serpatinib is currently on the market in China, but it has not yet been included in medical insurance. Patients can buy it domestically, but the price is relatively high, about more than 10,000 yuan. Foreign original drugs are more expensive than domestic ones, but the generic drugs on the market abroad are relatively cheap, mainly generic drugs from Laos and Bangladesh. The price is about more than 4,000 yuan, and the ingredients are basically the same as the original drugs.

Serpatinib was originally developed byLoxo Oncology and is now owned by Eli Lilly and Company. It is designed to inhibit tumor growth by inhibiting the activity of RET kinase and blocking the cell proliferation signaling pathway caused by RET activation.

The indications of Serpatinib mainly include RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), RETmutated medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) and other types of cancer that are RET fusion-positive. In clinical trials, septinib (serpatinib) demonstrated significant anti-tumor activity, particularly in patients who were refractory to or intolerant to conventional treatments. It received accelerated approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2020 for the treatment of patients with the above types of advanced or metastatic cancer.

Clinical study data show that Serpatinib in patients with RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer, the overall response rate (ORR) is approximately 64%, while in patients with RET mutated medullary thyroid cancer, the ORR was about 69%. These results indicate that selepatinib (serpatinib) has good efficacy and tolerability in the treatment of these specific types of cancer.