Is Stiripentol already covered by medical insurance reimbursement?

Currently, Stiripentol capsules have not been marketed in China, and therefore have not been included in the national medical insurance directory. As one of the important drugs used overseas for refractory epilepsy in children, its domestic availability still mainly relies on hospital registration and import or other compliance channels, and there is no unified medical insurance payment policy. For patient families, cost burden remains an important consideration when receiving such innovative antiepileptic drugs.

Looking at global usage, stiripentol is approved for the treatment of epilepsy in children with Dravet syndrome in Europe, the United States, Japan and other countries. The drug itself is a treatment drug related to rare diseases, so the price is usually relatively high. Since no formal marketing review has been carried out in China, and information such as drug prices, medical insurance negotiations and reimbursement ratios have not yet been officially announced, the possibility of inclusion in medical insurance in the short term is low.

However, in recent years, China has significantly accelerated the review of rare disease drugs, anti-epileptic drugs and children's drugs, while expanding the scope of introduction of urgently needed clinical drugs, providing a potential channel for drugs similar to stiripentol. If original research drug companies submit registration applications in China in the future or enter the green channel for rare disease drugs, the process of listing and medical insurance coverage is expected to be accelerated. The industry generally expects that with the increasing demand for childhood epilepsy treatment and increasing policy support, the accessibility of stiripentol is expected to improve in the next few years.

Families who currently need to use the drug can learn about compliant import methods under the guidance of doctors. Some provinces and cities also have local subsidy policies for children with rare diseases, which can be used to alleviate some of the economic pressure. At the same time, as patient groups continue to grow in demand for drugs, relevant pharmaceutical companies may also accelerate their deployment in the Chinese market and strive to achieve official listing and medical insurance negotiations as soon as possible.

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