Is acotinib/acalabrutinib included in medical insurance?

Acalabrutinib (Acalabrutinib)is a second-generation Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, mainly used to treat malignant tumors derived from B cells such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). In China, this targeted drug has been introduced by the original pharmaceutical company and approved for marketing. The product specification is usually 100mg/pill, each box contains 8 pills, a total of 7 boards, and the market price is close to more than 40,000 yuan. However, considering the high economic burden caused by the treatment of this type of lymphatic system malignant disease, China's National Medical Insurance Administration has included acotinib in the drug catalog (Category B), which greatly alleviates the financial pressure on patients.

According to the current medical insurance policy, the medical insurance reimbursement of acotinib is strictly restricted, and not all patients can obtain medical insurance support. It is mainly applicable to two groups of people: one is adult CLL/SLL patients who have received at least one type of treatment in the past; the other is adult MCL patients who have received the same treatment. The setting of this reimbursement scope is in line with the treatment indications covered by the main clinical studies when the drug is launched. It also ensures that the drug is used in disease areas that have been proven effective, thereby ensuring the rational use of medical insurance resources. In other words, only if the above conditions are met, patients can receive reimbursement on a proportional basis in accordance with the standards for Class B drugs in the National Medical Insurance when using acotinib.

From the perspective of drug mechanism, acotinib has obvious advantages in selectivity and safety compared with first-generationBTK inhibitors such as ibrutinib. It can more accurately inhibit the BTK signaling pathway and reduce off-target effects on other kinases such as EGFR. Therefore, it shows fewer adverse reactions in clinical practice, such as arrhythmia, bleeding, etc., which has further promoted its rapid promotion and medical insurance support in many countries around the world. Especially for elderly patients or those with cardiovascular disease, acotinib often becomes the safer drug of choice.

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