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- by Eo, Yun-Ho Jan 27, 2023 05:50am
Whether the 3 new biologics for asthma will be listed for insurance reimbursement in Korea is receiving attention.
According to industry sources, treatments for severe asthma including GSK Korea¡¯s Nucala (mepolizumab), Teva-Handok¡¯s Cinqair (reslizumab), and AstraZeneca Korea¡¯s Fasenra (benralizumab) are undergoing processes for reimbursement in Korea.
As interleukin-5 antagonists, the drugs reduce levels of blood eosinophils, a type of white blood cell that is involved in the development of asthma exacerbation. At the time of their approval, the drugs received attention for being an effective treatment option that had not been available before.
All 3 drugs have been approved for over 3 years in Korea. However, no other drug has been reimbursed since the reimbursement approval of Novartis Korea¡¯s ¡®Xolair (omalizumab)¡¯ in 2020.
At the time, the companies had foregone the listing process as they deemed it would be difficult to narrow the differences in opinion on setting the drug price with the government.
However, at the end of last year, GSK, Teva-Handok, and AstraZeneca started discussing reimbursement listing again at about the same time. However, it remains to be seen whether the pharmaceutical companies will be able to derive positive results from cost-effectiveness discussions with the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service under different their different situations.
One of the main purposes of asthma management is to reduce the risk of asthma exacerbations
Nucala, Cinqair, and Fasenra directly bind to the alpha subunit of the interleukin-5 receptor (IL-5R¥á) to induce apoptosis. The drugs demonstrated efficacy in reducing asthma exacerbation and improving lung function.