Can Imatinib be covered by medical insurance?

Imatinib (Imatinib) is a very important drug that belongs to the category of targeted therapy drugs. Its discovery and widespread application have had a revolutionary impact on the treatment of leukemia and some malignant tumors.

Imatinib was launched in China as early as 2003. The domestic medical insurance price is about 700 yuan, and the specification is 100mg*60. Due to the large differences in medical insurance in different places, please consult the local pharmacy or medical insurance bureau for specific prices. Foreign medicines are divided into original drugs and generic drugs. Original drugs are mainly Turkish original drugs, and the price is relatively high, about 3300 yuan; generic drugs are mainly Indian generic drugs, and the Indian generic drugs specifications 100mg*120 are priced at around a few hundred yuan, which is much cheaper than domestic ones. The ingredients of foreign original drugs and generic drugs are basically the same as those of domestic imatinib.

Imatinib is a targeted therapy drug that, unlike traditional chemotherapy drugs, specifically interferes with abnormal signaling pathways associated with specific cancers without having widespread effects on normal cells.

The main target of imatinib is theBCR-ABL fusion protein, which is a common abnormal protein in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). BCR-ABLfusion protein has abnormal tyrosine kinase activity, which promotes abnormal proliferation of white blood cells and leads to the development of CML. By inhibiting the activity of the BCR-ABL fusion protein, imatinib can control the growth of CML and convert it from a potentially fatal leukemia to a chronic, manageable disease.

Imatinib is also used to treat cortical kidney cancer (GIST), a tumor that originates in the gastrointestinal tract. In GIST patients, imatinib interferes with the proliferation of cancer cells by inhibiting the abnormal activity of KIT tyrosine kinase, significantly improving survival rate.

Compared with traditional chemotherapy drugs, imatinib generally causes fewer side effects, making the treatment easier for patients to tolerate, thereby improving quality of life.