Differences between domestically produced and imported upadatinib: price, efficacy and quality comparison

Upadacitinib is a selective JAK1 inhibitor developed by AbbVie. It is a targeted small molecule drug and is mainly used to treat immune-related diseases such as moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and atopic dermatitis. Since Upadatinib was approved for marketing in China in 2022, it has become another JAK inhibitor that has attracted much attention in clinical practice after tofacitinib and baricitinib. Currently, AbbVie's original imported drugs are currently on the domestic market, while domestic generic drugs have not yet been officially launched.

In terms of efficacy, the original drug upadatinib has demonstrated good disease control capabilities in multiple large-scale clinical trials around the world, especially in improving the clinical symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and delaying the destruction of joint structures. Due to its high selectivity for theJAK1 pathway, it can theoretically suppress inflammation while having a lower incidence of side effects. Although domestic generic drugs may have the same molecular structure as the original drugs in the future, they still need to pass a large amount of data verification in terms of bioequivalence, clinical observation, and long-term safety. Therefore, before generic drugs are officially launched, imported original drugs are still the first choice for patients.

In terms of price, the current market price of upadatinib in 15 mg format (28 tablets/box) is about RMB 2,000. After being included in the national medical insurance, the actual cost paid by patients has been significantly reduced, and some areas can even further reduce the burden through local subsidies. Once domestic generic drugs are approved for marketing, it is theoretically expected to lower the overall market price and improve drug accessibility for patients. However, due to the high technical threshold of this type of targeted drugs, the progress of imitation will still take a long time, and the original drugs will still occupy the main market share in the short term.

Before there are no alternative domestic drugs on the market, patients may choose to obtain imported original drugs through formal channels and use the drugs in a standardized manner under the guidance of rheumatology immunologists.

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