Is Relugolix covered by health insurance?

Relugolix, a novel gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist with promising efficacy and good tolerability, offers the opportunity to expand androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) options for prostate cancer and provide patients with the convenience of once-daily oral therapy. Through rapid testosterone suppression and recovery, regaglic has the potential to minimize adverse events associated with androgen deprivation therapy and facilitate combination and intermittent treatment strategies.

Testosterone production in men takes place in the Leydig cells of the testicles and is stimulated by luteinizing hormone (LH), which itself is produced in the pituitary gland after gonadotropin-releasing hormone binds to the correspondingGnRH receptor. Regaglic is a competitive antagonist of these GnRH receptors, thereby reducing the release of LH and ultimately testosterone. The recent approval of repagliflozin, which has the potential to improve the cardiac safety profile of androgen deprivation therapy, provides a valuable addition to the treatment of patients with advanced prostate cancer. Patients with prostate cancer need to pay special attention to cardiovascular safety, as androgen deprivation therapy further increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

The original drug of Regolic has not yet been launched in China, so it cannot be included in the scope of medical insurance. The specific time when it will enter medical insurance through relevant regulations is not yet clear. Patients can consult the local medical insurance bureau and other places. There are European and Japanese versions of the original drug Rleglik available overseas. The ingredients of the two are basically the same. The price of the European version of 120mg*30 tablets per box may be around RMB 4,000, and the price of the Japanese version of 40mg*100 tablets per box may be around RMB 4,000 (the price may fluctuate due to exchange rates). Currently, there are no generic versions of Repagliflox produced and put on the market.