Daratumumab Slashes Price by 56.8% Ahead of Upcoming National Reimbursement Drug Negotiation
Xian Janssen
Pharmaceutical R&D and Manufacturer
By | Feng Qiu
On July 27, the Liaoning Provincial Centralized Drug and Medical Consumables Procurement Platform issued a notice of voluntary price reduction for Daratumumab Injection. Xian Janssen's Daratumumab Injection in the 100mg/5ml specification was reduced from RMB 5,460 to RMB 2,358, and the 400mg/20ml specification from RMB 19,710 to RMB 8,512.4, representing a price reduction of 56.81%.
Daratumumab is a CD38 monoclonal antibody developed by Janssen. Its intravenous injection was approved by the FDA in November 2015 under the trade name Darzalex. It was approved for import in China in July 2019.
Daratumumab is a key product of Janssen. Financial reports indicate that global sales of daratumumab reached $2.998 billion in 2019 and $4.19 billion in 2020, representing a year-on-year increase of 39.8%. Multiple myeloma remains incurable, characterized by recurrent cycles of relapse and remission, and patients typically require multiple lines of therapy. Darzalex’s indications cover first- through fourth-line treatment, making it a cornerstone of clinical therapy. In May 2020, the subcutaneous formulation of Darzalex received regulatory approval. Although Sanofi’s CD38 monoclonal antibody, isatuximab, was also approved in 2020, its competitive impact on Darzalex has not yet been significant.
On the other hand, on January 13 of this year, Henlius also received clinical trial approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to conduct clinical trials of its developed recombinant anti-CD38 fully human monoclonal antibody injection (HLX15) for the treatment of multiple myeloma.
Last year, Daratumumab injection failed the national medical insurance negotiation. With the announcement that this year's National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) negotiations will take place from October to November, the recent price reduction of over 50% for Daratumumab injection may likely serve as preliminary preparation for this year's negotiations.
*Disclaimer: This article was written by a contributor to Sina Medical News. The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the position of Sina Medical News.
