Is durvalumab reimbursable?

Durvalumab/Infinifer (Durvalumab), as an immunotherapy drug with high international recognition, has been officially launched in China. However, one of the issues that patients are most concerned about is whether its cost can be covered by medical insurance. Judging from the current public policy, durvalumab has not yet entered the domestic medical insurance catalog, so it is temporarily unable to enjoy medical insurance reimbursement. This means that patients need to bear the cost of drugs out of pocket during treatment. For long-term treatment that is mainly maintenance treatment, the financial burden does need to be planned in advance.

The currently available specifications of durvalumab in China include120mg/2.4mL and 500mg/10mL, which are intravenous infusion preparations. Because immunotherapy is usually administered in cycles, the cost of treatment increases over time. The purchasing batches and channels of hospitals in different regions may affect the actual selling price, so the price fluctuates. The cost of a single box in some hospitals may be thousands of yuan, or it may be higher. This difference mainly comes from the difference in procurement paths and supply costs.

Although it is not yet included in medical insurance, some hospitals may provide a certain degree of cost reduction opportunities. Such approaches usually require meeting enrollment conditions, so not all patients can participate. For patients who require long-term treatment, this is also a protection method worth understanding in advance.

It needs to be emphasized that the potential for durvalumab to enter medical insurance in the future still exists. As domestic lung cancer treatment specifications continue to be updated, more immunotherapy drugs have gradually entered the medical insurance negotiation list, and durvalumab has become the standard treatment plan for some tumors overseas (small cell lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, endometrial cancer, and cholangiocarcinoma). Therefore, its medical insurance prospects have attracted attention in the industry. If policies change in the future, the treatment burden may be significantly reduced.

Reference materials:https://www.imfinzi.com/