On December 13, the 2023 National Medical Insurance Drug List was released in Beijing on the 13th. Bayer's new mechanism of chronic heart failure drug Weiketong (vericiguat tablets) has been successfully included in the new version of the National Medical Insurance Catalogue, and the burden of chronic heart failure patients in China will be significantly reduced.
There are more than 12 million heart failure patients in China, and the number of new cases is increasing at a rapid rate of about 3 million per year. At the same time, the 5-year mortality rate of heart failure is as high as 50%, and the mortality rate and rehospitalization rate remain high. The average cost of hospitalization for heart failure is about 39,064 yuan, which brings a heavy financial burden to patients and their families.
Ge Junbo, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, said: "Heart failure is the last battlefield of cardiovascular diseases, and the patient's condition is generally complex, requiring a variety of means to deal with the disease. Vericiguat is the first soluble guanylate cyclase (SGC) stimulator approved for heart failure, which can directly intervene in cell-signaling mechanism disorders, and by repairing the NO-SGC-CGMP pathway, heart failure** breaks through the original protocol, leading heart failure** into a new era of early multiplexing integration**. After the efficacy and safety of Weiketong is approved for marketing as a clinically urgently needed drug with priority review, its efficacy and safety have been recognized by the majority of doctors and patients, and after being admitted to the national medical insurance catalog, the burden of patients will be significantly reduced, and we are very pleased to see that innovative drugs can benefit more patients with heart failure. ”
Professor Ma Changsheng from Beijing Anzhen Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University said: "Heart failure is a progressive disease, and almost every patient will experience an exacerbation of heart failure. The phase III victoria study of vericiguat confirmed that in patients with a recent heart failure exacerbation, vericiguat can further reduce the absolute risk of cardiovascular death and hospitalization for heart failure by about 42%, which means that every 24 patients can reduce one cardiovascular death or one hospitalization for heart failure. The inclusion of the National Medical Insurance Catalogue means that the risk of cardiovascular death or hospitalization due to heart failure can be reduced with lower expenditure, which not only improves the best effect of Chinese heart failure patients, but also reduces the financial burden of their families. ”
Professor Yang Jiefu of Beijing Hospital said: "Only the same market allows doctors to fight heart failure more efficiently, because heart failure patients often have a variety of comorbidities, vericiguat's unique mechanism of action and metabolic pathway make it less drug interactions, blood pressure has little impact, does not affect blood potassium and kidney function, can be applied to a wider range of heart failure patients in clinical practice, reduce the complexity of heart failure, the drug can be paid by medical insurance so that doctors have less concerns and more choices when making ** choices, which is very important to ensure the best effect." ”
Professor Zhang Jian from Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, said: "With the progress of clinical research and the change of guidelines, the best strategy for heart failure drugs** has changed from gradual titration to multi-drug initial combination, and the selection of drugs with different mechanisms of action according to the individual characteristics of patients is more effective. However, the proportion and target dose of GDMT in patients with real-world central failure are still insufficient, mainly related to tolerance problems due to hypotension, impaired renal function, or hyperkalemia. In the Victoria study of vericiguat, a target dose of 10 mg per day was available to more than 90% of patients, demonstrating that it was well tolerated. After being admitted to the National Medical Insurance Catalogue, it is more accessible and reasonable, and I expect Vericiguat to play a greater role in heart failure, so that more patients can benefit from it with peace of mind. ”
Hu Ziping, Senior Vice President of Bayer's Pharmaceuticals Division, said: "Bayer has been deeply involved in the cardiovascular field for many years, and we have continuously introduced innovations** and actively worked to promote the accessibility and affordability of medicines. We understand that the medical needs of patients require a concerted effort by all parties, and Bayer will continue to support ** and medical workers and work together with all stakeholders to contribute to the well-being of patients. ”
Approved in May 2022 in China for symptomatic chronic heart failure** patients with stable ejection fraction (ejection fraction <45%) after recent heart failure decompensation** to reduce the risk of heart failure hospitalization or need for emergency intravenous diuretics**, it has benefited approximately 60,000 Chinese heart failure patients since its commercial launch in 2022.
*:Xinhua.
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