Recently, the National Health Insurance Administration and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security officially announced the National Basic Medical Insurance, Work-related Injury Insurance and Maternity Insurance Drug Catalogue (2023 Edition). Among them, the indications of chronic spontaneous urticaria and allergic asthma with prefilled injection needle have all been successfully included in the new version of the national medical insurance catalog. This is the only pre-filled biological agent in the field of urticaria and asthma in China that is included in medical insurance. This positive news means that the population covered by medical insurance will be further expanded, so that more patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria can get a more convenient and efficient option at the lowest cost, and will also greatly improve the accessibility of this innovative drug to patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria. It is reported that the new version of the national medical insurance catalogue was officially implemented on January 1.
According to the "Disease Burden of Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria Patients in China", the incidence of chronic urticaria in China is 1%, with about 13 million patients, of which about 68% are chronic spontaneous urticaria, mainly young and middle-aged women. Professor Xiao Rong of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University said that chronic spontaneous urticaria has the characteristics of unknown cause, reversal, and prolongation, and patients not only have to bear physical pain, but also seriously affect mental health, such as anxiety, depression, etc., and the disease burden is very serious.
Patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria often have daily or occasional wheals for more than 6 weeks without any triggers. Mast cells play a leading role in the occurrence and development of chronic spontaneous urticaria. Antihistamines are the most commonly used regimens in clinical practice, but in China, nearly 1 3 patients have ** resistance, and even if the off-label dose is increased to 4 times the dose, the effect is still not good. ** 1 year later, still up to 422% of patients were not effectively controlled.
Omalizumab is the world's first and only biologic approved for antihistamines** that remain symptomatic, and it is also the first anti-IgE (immunoglobulin E) humanized monoclonal antibody, which can block its inflammatory pathway by specifically binding to free IgE in serum, inhibiting mast cell activation at the source, blocking the release of inflammatory mediators, and directly hitting the lesion. Its clinical efficacy and safety in the application of chronic spontaneous urticaria have been demonstrated in numerous clinical studies.
Omalizumab prefilled injection needle is currently the only prefilled biologic approved for the use of **chronic spontaneous urticaria in China. Its efficacy and safety are no different from those of omalizumab lyophilized powder preparations, which have been included in medical insurance, and can significantly improve the symptoms of urticaria in patients. In this regard, Professor Xiao Rong said that the lyophilized powder preparation needs to be dissolved by medical staff first, and then injected by medical staff and kept in the hospital for observation before leaving, which is not only complicated, but also increases the diagnosis and treatment time of medical care and patients. Professor Xiao Rong said: "The emergence of pre-filled needles greatly facilitates patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria, does not need to be dissolved before injection, reduces the difficulty of injection, and patients can self-inject at home after 3 injection evaluations and simple training, and it only takes about 1-2 minutes to complete the injection, which greatly saves the time of medical care and patients, and also reduces the impact on the daily life of patients, increases the flexibility of medication, and is suitable for long-term for patients. ”
Previously, because of the cost problem, many patients were discouraged from innovative drugs. Professor Xiao Rong said: "Many doctors and patients are worried about the high cost, which leads to our dare not use good drugs and are reluctant to use them. Now omalizumab prefilled injection into the medical insurance, it is great news for all patients, the monthly cost is greatly reduced, greatly reducing the economic burden of patients and their families, and can also better improve patients' medication compliance, help patients form standardized medication habits and obtain better results, so that more people can get a convenient, efficient and safe new experience of urticaria at home. ”
Correspondent Liu Zhihong.
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