Million-Dollar CAR-T Cancer Therapies for Leukemia and Lymphoma Set for Inclusion in China's First Commercial Insurance Drug List

Fast Technology News on November 7: According to media reports, the much-anticipated "million-dollar-per-shot" cancer drug CAR-T therapy has once again become a hot topic recently.According to media reports, several CAR-T products, including Juventas' Natriolimab Injection, are expected to achieve breakthroughs in the 2025 commercial insurance innovative drug directory price negotiations, bringing new payment options for patients.

From October 30 to November 3, the National Healthcare Security Administration organized the negotiation and bidding for the 2025 National Basic Medical Insurance Drug List, as well as price consultations for the commercial insurance innovative drug list. A total of 120 domestic and foreign-funded enterprises participated, with 127 off-list drugs involved in the basic medical insurance negotiation and bidding, and 24 drugs participating in price consultations for the commercial insurance innovative drug list.

Fosun Karry, CARsgen Therapeutics and other companies responded that the final result of whether CAR-T products will be included in commercial insurance still needs to wait for the official announcement from the National Healthcare Security Administration.

CAR-T Therapy, or Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Immunotherapy, is an innovative treatment for blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma.This therapy involves extracting the patient's own immune T-cells, genetically modifying them in vitro to enable precise identification and attack on cancer cells. Due to its highly personalized customization, it is hailed as a "biological missile." However, the production model of "one drug for one person" leads to high costs, with prices generally reaching millions of yuan, making it unaffordable for many patients.

In September this year, the National Healthcare Security Administration announced the expert review results for the 2025 National Basic Medical Insurance Drug List and the Commercial Insurance Innovative Drug List adjustments. All five CAR-T products passed the commercial insurance directory review, specifically including: Juventas' Naciaurolsen Injection, IASO Biotherapeutics' Equecabtagene Autoleucel Injection, Fosun Kite’s Axicabtagene Ciloleucel Injection, JW Therapeutics' Relmacabtagene Autoleucel Injection, and CARsgen Therapeutics' Zevorcabtagene Autoleucel Injection.

In terms of price,Apart from Juventas' CAR-T product priced at 999,000 yuan per dose, the products from Fosun Kite, Wuxi JWCAR, IASO Bio, and CARsgen are all above one million yuan, priced at 1.2 million yuan/dose, 1.29 million yuan/dose, 1.166 million yuan/dose, and 1.15 million yuan/dose respectively.

For a long time, due to price factors, CAR-T therapy has not been included in the national medical insurance catalog. Therefore, whether this commercial insurance price negotiation can make substantial progress has become a focal point of attention for both pharmaceutical companies and patients.

The final results of the 2025 National Medical Insurance Catalog adjustment are expected to be officially announced in early December.

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Editor: Deer Antler