On 29 November 2024, Reuters reported that AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s Enhertu® (trastazumab deruxtecan), will be added to China’s state-run health insurance scheme. The addition of the drug, projected to be incorporated from early 2025, will aid in reducing the costs associated with the treatment of breast cancer for patients, with expected price cuts of over 50%. Currently, breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer diagnosed in women in China. Of these diagnoses, approximately 20% are HER2-positive cases, which is the primary target of Enhertu®.
This news follows the previous approval of Enhertu® in China for this indication in July 2023.