Price changes and patient burden after Binimetinib enters medical insurance

As of2025, bimetinib (Binimetinib) has not yet been approved for marketing by the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), and naturally has not been included in the national medical insurance directory. This means that domestic patients are temporarily unable to reduce their drug burden through medical insurance reimbursement and can only rely on overseas purchases, especially Hong Kong original drugs or generic drugs. Due to the lack of medical insurance support, its high out-of-pocket price is still a heavy financial pressure for many patients. Especially for patients with advanced tumors who require long-term medication, medication continuity is challenged.

Currently in overseas markets, the original version of bimetinib is mainly produced by Novartis Novartis. The common specification of the Hong Kong version is 15mg*84 tablets per box, priced at about more than 10,000 yuan. This high price prohibits many middle-class and above patients, and some patients even interrupt treatment due to financial reasons, affecting the stability of the efficacy. Since such MEK inhibitors often need to be combined with BRAF inhibitors such as dabrafenib (Dabrafenib), the total cost of the overall treatment plan may double, increasing the burden on families.

In order to reduce the cost of medication, many patients choose the generic version produced by Lucius Pharmaceutical Factory in Laos. A box of this generic drug (15mg*84tablets) sells for about 6,000 yuan, which is nearly half the price of the original drug, and the ingredients and dosage specifications are basically the same. However, because it has not been approved in China, the generic drug needs to be obtained through cross-border purchasing or a third-party overseas medical service platform. There are hidden concerns in the purchasing process such as legality, safety and identification of drug authenticity, and there are still certain thresholds for ordinary patients.

If bimetinib is approved for marketing in China in the future and successfully negotiates to enter medical insurance, its price is expected to drop significantly. Referring to the previous decline of the combination of dabrafenib + trametinib after medical insurance negotiations (more than 70%), the price of bimetinib after medical insurance may also drop to several thousand yuan or even lower. This will greatly alleviate the long-term treatment burden for patients with advanced melanoma, colorectal cancer, etc., and promote the popularity of MEK targeted therapy in China. Patients can continue to pay attention to the domestic approval and medical insurance negotiation progress of the drug, and communicate with professional doctors whether to participate in clinical trials or obtain drugs through formal overseas channels when necessary.

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