Discussion on the monthly treatment cost of acalatinib/acalatinib

Acalabrutinib/Acalabrutinib is a highly effective drug targeting B cell malignancies. It works by selectively inhibiting the activity of BTK. The drug has been shown in preclinical experiments to bind tightly to BTK, thereby reducing B cell proliferation, migration and other key activities. Currently, acotinib has been widely used to treat various cancers such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

The recommended medication regimen for patients is to take one 100 mg capsule of acotinib every 12 hours, with or without food. In the domestic market, the common drug specification is that each box contains 100mg, 8 pills and 7 tablets, while the overseas version is packaged in 100mg*60 pills. At this dosage, a patient will consume one box of acotinib in approximately one month (30 days).

So, how much does one month of acotinib treatment cost? In China, after being covered by medical insurance, the price of each box of medicine is about more than 40,000 yuan, which means that the patient's monthly treatment cost is roughly the same. However, overseas, the price of this original drug has soared to more than 10,000 US dollars, which is undoubtedly a heavy financial burden for most patients.

Fortunately, generic versions of acotinib are now available on the market, and their efficacy is almost the same as that of the original drug. For example, the price of acotinib produced by a pharmaceutical company in Laos is more than 3,000 yuan per box (exchange rate changes may affect the specific price). Therefore, for patients who choose this generic drug, the monthly treatment cost may be reduced to less than 5,000 yuan. Compared with the original drug, the financial pressure will be greatly reduced.