Has bimekizumab been included in medical insurance reimbursement?

Bimekizumab (Bimekizumab), as a dual-pathway inhibitor of IL-17A/IL-17F that has attracted much attention in the global dermatology field in recent years, has quickly become the focus of discussion among patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis after its launch in China. Due to its novel mechanism, rapid onset of action, and high skin lesion clearance rate, many people are also concerned about whether it has been included in the medical insurance catalog and whether it can reduce the economic pressure of long-term treatment. According to public information, bicizumab injection has been officially launched in China, but it has not yet been included in the national medical insurance directory, so it is still within the scope of self-pay medicine for the time being. Its domestic market price is generally about three to four thousand yuan per box (160mg*1 stick), and there may be slight fluctuations in different regions and channels.

Biological drugs usually need to go through several review processes from launch to medical insurance, including pharmacoeconomic evaluation, real-world use value, clinical necessity judgment and final price negotiation. In the past, IL-17 drugs have gone through a relatively strict evaluation process before entering the medical insurance. Due to its short time on the market, bicizumab has not yet entered the medical insurance negotiation cycle. Whether the drug will be included in medical insurance in the future will depend on the number of users of the drug in the country, treatment advantages, substitutability with existing treatments, corporate quotations and other factors. Therefore, the possibility of it being included in medical insurance in the short term is not high, but the long-term trend is still worthy of attention.

Since bicizumab is a maintenance treatment drug for long-term use, the cost of use under self-pay conditions is still stressful for some patients. However, as domestic production and channel supply gradually stabilize, prices may undergo market adjustments to a certain extent. In addition, some regional hospitals or charities may launch relevant patient assistance projects in the future, but they are still in the planning or approval stage and have not been officially implemented.

References: https://www.drugs.com/bimekizumab.html