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How much will it cost to get Lenin covered? Why is India's Lenin so cheap?

is Lenin now covered by health insurance? How much will it cost after Lenin's medical insurance? In July and May, "I'm not the God of medicine" went online. This is a movie based on the real theme. Do you know what the prototype of the story is? I am not the drug God, but actually the drug has been included in the scope of medical insurance in real life. How much is it now?

The prototype of the story mentioned in the film is the "Lu Yong Case" which caused a sensation three years ago. Lu Yong, the hero of the prototype, is a patient with CML. Under the pressure of high drug price, he embarked on the road of purchasing foreign generic drugs in India. He also purchased the drug for many patients through online credit card, which is called "the first person to buy anti-cancer drugs on behalf of others". He was also arrested on suspicion of "obstructing credit card management" and "selling counterfeit drugs" for buying generic drugs on behalf of others. On January 27, 2015, Yuanjiang procuratorate requested the court to withdraw the prosecution. The prosecutor explained in the interpretation statement that he decided not to prosecute: "if Lu's act is found to constitute a crime, it will deviate from the due values of criminal justice.".

Up to 80% reimbursable

Sky high price 'magic medicine' has been included in the medical insurance catalogue

Patent medicine is developed by pharmaceutical factories and enjoys patent protection. Lu Yong's "Gleevec" was a patent drug when he was on the road of purchasing on behalf of others. It is a drug developed by Novartis pharmaceutical company in Switzerland with excellent curative effect for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. It is also the first molecular targeted drug in the world. It can increase the five-year survival rate of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia to 90% on average.

After the first introduction of Gleevec into China in 2001, the price was previously 23500 yuan / box, and the course of treatment was about one month / box, which was regarded as a drug of high price. After a series of price adjustment measures, the current price is reduced to 11000 yuan to 12000 yuan / box, and the annual cost is about 130000 to 140000 yuan.

In 2017, Gleevec was listed as a class B drug in the national basic medical insurance catalog. In the subsequent local medical insurance catalog, the drug was also listed in the local medical insurance catalog. Taking Guangdong as an example, the proportion of reimbursement for Gleevec's medical insurance was about 80%. According to this conversion, the self expense of each box of patients was about 2200 yuan.

Why are generic drugs so cheap in India?

However, in terms of pure price, there is still a big difference between the price of the original research group and that of the 'India Group'. The price of the imitated India Group is about 980 yuan / box (the specification is 100mg * 120 tablets, equivalent to two boxes of the original research drugs). The price of "India's greyway" bought by Lu Yong was even as low as 200 yuan / box.

Why can there be a large number of cheap generic drugs in India? In theory, the drugs with patent protection period are only allowed to be produced by pharmaceutical companies holding patents, and other pharmaceutical companies are not allowed to produce them. India, however, is an exception. India's patent law of 1970 gave up the protection of intellectual property rights of pharmaceutical compounds, and its enterprises began to produce generic drugs in large quantities, and rapidly developed into a pillar industry. A few months after a drug goes on the market in the United States, cheap generic drugs can be found in India.

Because it doesn't require research and development costs and can bypass patents, India has a large number of cheap generic drugs. There are also subsequent purchases by Lu Yong and others.

However, in the view of the pharmaceutical industry, patent protection for innovative drugs is very important. The R & D investment of new drugs is often billions of US dollars. The process is very difficult, and it may even be abandoned. If there is no patent protection, innovative drugs are available, and a large number of low-cost generic drugs are launched, the motivation of drug companies to develop new drugs will be greatly weakened, and more diseases may face the situation of no drugs available.

Many doctors have also expressed concerns about the quality and efficacy of generic drugs in India. In an interview with reporters, the president of a cancer hospital in Guangzhou once said that it is not good or bad to evaluate the efficacy of Indian generic drugs, because these drugs have not been clinically verified. 'the road is not reliable, the process is uncontrollable and prone to fraud. "The president pointed out that oral chemical drugs are relatively easier to enter China through purchasing on behalf of others, but those targeted drugs and injection drugs with very strict refrigeration requirements may also deteriorate during transportation.

However, despite all kinds of security risks, in the face of the hope of life and cheaper life-saving drugs, some cancer patients still have no choice but to choose Indian generic drugs. Up to now, the grey industry chain of overseas drug purchasing is still active underground.