How much does a dose of Bicizumab cost and where to purchase it?

Bimekizumab has made major breakthroughs in the treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis in recent years, especially because of its dual-target mechanism of simultaneously inhibiting IL-17A and IL-17F, making it superior to most existing biological agents in improving the speed and persistence of skin lesions. Since being approved for marketing, bicizumab has gradually entered the market in many countries around the world. Mainland China has currently approved the marketing of bicizumab injection for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, but it has not yet been included in the medical insurance catalog and patients need to purchase it at their own expense.

According to the latest market information, the official selling price of bicizumab in mainland China is approximately RMB 3,000 to RMB 4,000 per vial160 mg injection, one box per box.

In view of the issue of drug accessibility, patients can choose the following channels to purchase drugs: first, purchase through prescriptions from the dermatology and rheumatology departments of large hospitals, and some specialist outpatient clinics or rare disease centers will have supplies; second, order through medical platforms or pharmacies; third, through direct purchase of international drugs The service obtains overseas original drugs, such as the two-pack (160mg*2) version circulating in the Belgian or German markets. The price is about RMB 40,000 to RMB 50,000, but it involves cross-border transportation and customs declaration processes, which takes a long time, and requires a doctor's prescription and medical records.

There are currently no generic drugs of Bichizumab on the market, either domestically or in countries with active generic drug industries such as India. Considering that it is a biological macromolecule drug with high technical barriers to R&D and production, the possibility of generic versions being launched in the next few years is low. In the future, if it can be included in the national medical insurance or the research and development of domestic biosimilar drugs can be carried out, the financial pressure on patients will be greatly relieved and the accessibility of drugs will be improved.

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