Reporter |
Editor |Xie Xin
New Horizon Health, the “first stock of the Year of the Ox” listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, signed a strategic cooperation memorandum with AstraZeneca Investment China on March 15. AstraZeneca Investment China officially announced that it had secured the promotion rights for Changweiqing® (a combined test kit for KRAS gene mutations, BMP3/NDRG4 gene methylation, and fecal occult blood) in public hospitals, pharmacies, and internet hospitals across mainland China.
ColoClear® is a cancer early screening product developed by New Horizon Health. In November 2020, it received the first cancer early screening license approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), with its intended use explicitly specified for “screening of individuals aged 40–74 years at high risk for colorectal cancer.”
However, with Colotect® priced at nearly RMB 2,000, external observers believe that although the market for early cancer screening has broad prospects, the high price of Colotect® poses significant challenges to its promotion. According to New Horizon Health’s prospectus, the company’s sales and marketing expenses in 2019 amounted to RMB 75.609 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 191.26%; in the first half of 2020, sales and marketing expenses were RMB 20.912 million, a year-on-year increase of 50.38%. Zhu Yeqing, Executive Director and CEO of New Horizon Health, stated that the year-on-year rise in sales and marketing expenses was due to the company’s focused investment in educating physicians and patients and promoting the concept of early cancer screening.
Clearly, following this collaboration, New Horizon Health is poised to accelerate the commercialization of its product Changweiqing® by leveraging AstraZeneca’s extensive sales infrastructure in China. It is reported that AstraZeneca China currently employs 12,000 marketing personnel, including a team of 3,500 dedicated to county-level markets.
Zhu Yeqing, Executive Director and CEO of New Horizon Health, stated that the initial commercialization of Changweiqing® would target public hospitals and internet hospitals. Zhu told a reporter from Jiemian News that, in addition to leveraging AstraZeneca’s sales team, Changweiqing® has been included in the “Chinese Guidelines for Colorectal Cancer Screening and Early Diagnosis and Treatment (2020, Beijing).”
Regarding pricing, Zhu Yeqing believes that price will not be the biggest obstacle to the sales of Colotect®. “No cancer patient would consider early cancer screening expensive,” he stated, emphasizing that the most critical task is to promote the concept of early screening. On the subject of pricing and payment, Wang Lei, Executive Vice President of AstraZeneca, President of International Business and China, indicated that beyond medical insurance, future pharmaceutical payment methods will primarily consist of commercial insurance and out-of-pocket payments. He added that, if opportunities arise, AstraZeneca would work with New Horizon Health to explore suitable commercial insurance payment models.
On March 13, the Capacity Building and Continuing Education Center of the National Health Commission hosted the “National Top 100 Counties 313 Screening Week” campaign. During this year’s Two Sessions, CPPCC members also proposed that public hospitals strengthen cancer screening, early diagnosis, and early treatment. Zhu Yeqing interpreted this as a positive signal and expressed optimism about the future inclusion of Changweiqing® in the National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL). In addition to seeking NRDL coverage, Wang Lei indicated that the company might explore reimbursement opportunities in provincial medical insurance schemes with budget surpluses.