Is tucatinib included in medical insurance?

It is understood that the original drug tucatinib has not yet been launched in China, so it has not been covered by domestic medical insurance. Patients in need cannot yet purchase this drug in pharmacies or hospitals. Tucatinib is a kinase inhibitor, which means it blocks an enzyme (kinase) that helps prevent cancer cells from growing. Tucatinib is approved for the treatment of adults who have received one or more HER2-based anti-metastasis regimens.

Patients received the recommended dose of tucatinib 300 mg orally twice daily in combination with trastuzumab on day 1 of cycle 1 until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary efficacy endpoints were overall response rate (ORR) and duration of response (DOR) assessed by blinded independent central review, with ORR 38% and median DOR 12.4 months. The most common adverse events were diarrhea, fatigue, rash, nausea, abdominal pain, infusion-related reactions, and pyrexia, and the most common laboratory abnormalities were increased creatinine, increased glucose, increased ALT, decreased hemoglobin, increased AST, increased bilirubin, increased alkaline phosphatase, lymphopenia, decreased albumin, leukopenia, and sodium decrease.

The price of the European version of tucatinib original drug sold overseas is around RMB 72,000 (the price may fluctuate due to exchange rates), which is expensive. There are also generic drugs of tucatinib produced in other countries. The price of Tucatinib produced by a Lao pharmaceutical factory is around 6,400 yuan (the price may fluctuate due to the exchange rate). The price is much cheaper than the original drug, and the ingredients of foreign generic drugs are basically the same as the original drug.