Patients implore for 1st line reimbursement of Tagrisso

and asks for the reassessment of first-line reimbursement of Tagrisso

1,713 patients and families hold an online signature campaign

“Feels ‘devastated’ by the cost of 6 million won per 4 weeks…the government neglected its promise”

Requested prompt reimbursement of Tagrisso to GOV·lung cancer societies·pharmaceutical company

After a series of failures in receiving reimbursement extension for the EGFR targeted therapy ‘Tagrisso’ in the first-line setting of lung cancer, the patients have taken the reimbursement issue into their own hands and implored the government to review its reimbursement again.

 

On the 22nd, the 1,713 lung cancer patients and their families delivered a letter of appeal to the government, the Korean Association for Lung Cancer, and AstraZeneca Korea, expressing their “sincere hope for the first-line reimbursement of Tagrisso.” The letter said, “With Tagrisso’s first-line reimbursement thwarted numerous times during the past 3 years despite the desperate hope of patients and the medical community, patients and families that had to use Tagrisso as first-line treatment have been suffering from the immense financial burden imposed by the high-price of the drug.

 

The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service’s Cancer Drug Review Committee had turned down the application to extend reimbursement of Tagrisso to the first-line setting of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

 

Since adding this first-line indication in Korea in December 2018, AstraZeneca Korea had been attempting the reimbursement expansion since 2019 but was unable to pass the threshold of the Cancer Drug Review Committee.

 

The Cancer Drug Review Committee’s had an issue with the sub-analysis results of the global FLAURA trial in Asians, although the drug demonstrated an improvement in overall survival in the total population.

 

On this, AstraZeneca further submitted results from the FLAURA China trial on the Chinese cohort patients, however, the reimbursement was once again turned down in April.

 

Faced with this high barrier, patients and families came forward and organized an online signature-gathering campaign.

 

In only one day, over 1,000 people signed the petition, and in one week, 1,713 people joined the campaign.

 

The patients and families implored, “We don’t need the clinical trial results on Asians that was conducted on Chinese patients.

 

Just the domestic cases are enough to recognize that Tagrisso has the best treatment effect in lung cancer and can even prevent brand metastasis and recurrence.

 

We are deeply hurt that the current government, which promised to improve the medical environment for cancer patients, neglected the promise to ‘actively review reimbursement for first-line treatment with Tagrisso’ that was made at a national audit last year.” They continued, “We earnestly ask that you understand the sincerity of our claim, rather than simply dismissing our request for the first-line reimbursement Tagrisso in lung cancer as a ‘protest.’ We sincerely ask you to reconsider the reimbursement of Tagrisso as first-line treatment in lung cancer,” asking for the prompt reimbursement of Tagrisso.

 

They also asked for the Korean Association for Lung Cancer’s support for this initiative.

 

“Many professors in the field recommend Tagrisso as first-line treatment, however, the members of HIRA’s Cancer Drug Review Committee keep deferring reimbursement claiming that it lacks clinical usefulness.” To AstraZeneca Korea, they said, “We feel hopeless faced with the reality of having to pay over 6 million won every 4 weeks for the treatment,” and asked for the company’s additional and multidimensional effort for approval.