Has Donanemab been included in the scope of medical insurance reimbursement?

Donanemab (Donanemab) is an innovative anti-Alzheimer's disease drug developed by Eli Lilly and Company. It has been officially approved by China in December 2024. The National Food and Drug Administration (NMPA) approved the market, and the first prescription was issued in China in March 2025. It is primarily indicated for the treatment of patients with early-stage Alzheimer's disease, including mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild Alzheimer's disease stages. As the second targeted drug to eliminate β-amyloid protein, it has attracted widespread attention and discussion after Lencanezumab.

Although donexumab has been successfully marketed in China, as of now, it has not been included in the national medical insurance drug list. This means that patients are responsible for all costs of using the drug. Referring to the market pricing of the similar drug lencanezumab, the annual treatment cost of donexumab may also be around hundreds of thousands of yuan, which is a considerable financial burden for most families. Therefore, drug accessibility is still a major problem faced by patients.

In order to improve the affordability of medicines for patients, drug manufacturer Eli Lilly and Company has been actively promoting patient assistance programs and stated that it is communicating with relevant medical insurance departments to strive to include donelenumab in the medical insurance catalog as soon as possible. At the same time, some places are exploring the use of various payment channels such as commercial insurance, Huimin Insurance, and special funds for major diseases to provide patients with a certain degree of financial subsidies. These measures provide hope for patients to gain wider access to new medicines.

Overall, doneleumab has been successfully launched in China, but it is still in the self-pay stage and has not yet been reimbursed by medical insurance. For patients and families who want to receive treatment with this drug, it is recommended to pay close attention to the update of the National Medical Insurance Directory, Eli Lilly’s assistance policy and the progress of local medical insurance expansion measures, so as to reduce drug costs and obtain better treatment opportunities in the future.

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