Price War Erupts in Breast Cancer Drugs: Roche's Kadcyla Slashes Price by Over 50%

　　【Pharmaceutical Network Industry DynamicsRecently, Roche announced a price reduction for the breast cancer drug Trastuzumab Emtansine, with a decrease of up to 52%. The 100mg/vial formulation dropped from 19,282.00 yuan to 9,200 yuan, and the 160mg/vial formulation decreased from 27,632.04 yuan to 13,184.05 yuan. This will bring good news to a large number of breast cancer patients in China.
 

Breast cancer is a serious gynecological tumor disease that threatens women's health. In China, there are many breast cancer patients, with 400,000 new cases each year. Among them, HER2-positive breast cancer accounts for about 20% to 25% of all breast cancer cases and belongs to a subtype with poor prognosis, seriously affecting the physical and mental health of patients. With continuous breakthroughs in anti-HER2 treatment, HER2-positive breast cancer patients are embracing more and more targeted drugs and adjuvant treatment options, but overall, there remains a significant unmet clinical need.
 

Trastuzumab Emtansine, developed by Roche, is a HER2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate that inhibits HER2 receptor signaling, exerts antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, and inhibits the shedding of the HER2 extracellular domain in HER2-overexpressing human breast cancer cells. The product was approved by the FDA in February 2013 for the treatment of patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who have previously failed treatment with trastuzumab and taxane chemotherapy.
 

In China, this product was approved for marketing by the China Food and Drug Administration in January 2020. It is used for adjuvant treatment of HER2-positive early breast cancer patients who still have residual invasive lesions after receiving neoadjuvant therapy based on taxane combined with trastuzumab. In June 2021, ado-trastuzumab emtansine was approved for a second indication in China as monotherapy for HER2-positive, unresectable locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer patients who have received taxane and trastuzumab treatments. As the first antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) to be launched in the field of breast cancer in China, this product has brought good news to a large number of patients. The "Chinese Anti-Cancer Association Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines and Specifications (2021 Edition)" has included this product in the adjuvant treatment following neoadjuvant therapy for HER2-positive breast cancer.
 

But monoclonal antibody products are often expensive, and many patient families find it hard to bear the heavy cost of medication. To reduce the burden on patients and their families, a patient assistance program was launched in China shortly after the market entry of trastuzumab emtansine. In 2021, this product failed to be included in the medical insurance through negotiation, but insiders pointed out that the price reduction by Roche this time was close to the average price reduction in medical insurance negotiations.
 

In fact, it is not only Roche. Previously, Pfizer's new breast cancer drug Ibrance, which was not covered by medical insurance, also decided to cut its price by 54%, reducing the price per bottle from 29,799 yuan to 13,667 yuan. At the same time, Pfizer adjusted its patient assistance program, gradually halting the previous charitable drug donations for low-income and minimum living standard patients.
 

Behind the price cuts made by many multinational pharmaceutical companies, the industry generally believes that a price war for HER-2 positive breast cancer drugs has actually begun. In China, a large number of pharmaceutical companies have already entered the market, including Hengrui, Siho Pharmaceutical, and Luye Pharma, making the market competition extremely intense.
 

Industry analysts believe that, with the advancement of China's national medical insurance negotiations and the normalization of bulk procurement, the competition in China's pharmaceutical market will become more intense. This will force multinational pharmaceutical companies to adjust their focus and gradually change their business models. It is expected that more multinational companies, which have not entered the medical insurance system, will proactively cut prices in the future, and the price reduction will be significant. For the vast number of breast cancer patients, this may be good news.
 

Disclaimer: In any case, the information or opinions expressed in this article do not constitute investment advice to any person.