Analysis of one month’s medication cost of adagrasib (Krazati) and the various factors that affect the price

As the second approved KRAS G12C inhibitor, adagrasib (Krazati) provides a new treatment option for patients with non-small cell lung cancer with related mutations. However, the drug is currently not available in the country and patients can only purchase it through overseas channels. According to market conditions, the price of the American version of the original drug is very high, and the monthly medication cost is often as high as hundreds of thousands of yuan. This is a financial burden that most patient families cannot bear in the long term. Relatively speaking, generic drugs have appeared in some foreign regions. For example, the Laos version costs about more than 3,000 yuan per box. The drug ingredients are basically the same as the original drugs, which greatly lowers the threshold for drug use.

From the perspective of efficacy, the original drug has been verified through rigorous clinical trials and has shown considerable response rates and long progression-free survival in patients with KRAS G12C mutated lung cancer. Although the Lao version of the generic drug has not yet been verified by large-scale international clinical trials, because it maintains the same ingredients and dosage design as the original drug, the efficacy is basically consistent with the original drug in actual use feedback from patients. Therefore, in terms of efficacy, generic drugs provide more patients with cost-effective alternatives.

There are many factors that affect the price of adagrasib. First of all, R&D investment and patent protection are important reasons for determining the high price of original drugs. Original drug companies need to recover R&D costs through pricing and maintain market exclusivity. Secondly, policies and medical insurance coverage in different countries and regions will also cause significant differences in drug prices. For example, drug prices in the United States are generally high, while in some Southeast Asian countries, generic drug prices are more affordable due to production or policy reasons. Finally, channel differences also affect the price. If it is obtained through regular cross-border pharmacies or third-party purchasing agents, the price will fluctuate to a certain extent.

In general, there is a huge gap in the cost of one month's medication of adagrasib depending on the version chosen: the original drug costs hundreds of thousands of yuan, while the Lao version of the generic drug only costs several thousand yuan. For patient groups with greater financial pressure, generic drugs can greatly ease the burden of long-term treatment while ensuring efficacy and safety. With the advancement of domestic marketing and medical insurance policies in the future, the accessibility of adagrasib is expected to be further improved, bringing tangible survival benefits to more patients with KRAS mutations.

Reference link:https://www.drugs.com