K Hospital plans to buy Russian cancer drugs

K Hospital is planning to purchase the Russian-made Pembroria cancer treatment drug for use in patients. The drug costs about 18 million VND/bottle, less than 1/3 the price of the invented drug, but not all cancer patients are prescribed it.

Invented medicine 62 million VND/bottle

Regarding the cancer treatment drug Pembrolizuma (active ingredient pembrolizumab) produced by Russia, on the afternoon of November 13, K Hospital said that the drug Pembroria with the active ingredient pembrolizumab, 100 mg/4 ml vial produced by Limited Liability Company "PK-137", Russian Federation has been granted a circulation registration certificate by the Drug Administration of Vietnam, Ministry of Health .

The estimated price of Pembroria is about 18 million VND/bottle, with the usual dose being 2 bottles for 1 treatment cycle. Thus, the cost for 1 treatment cycle for a patient is about 36 million VND with a dose of 200 mg (2 bottles).

Cancer drugs need to be prescribed appropriately for each case.

PHOTO: TUAN MINH

Pembroria is a biologic approved for the following indications: melanoma, non-small cell lung carcinoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, classical Hodgkin lymphoma, urothelial carcinoma, esophageal carcinoma, cancers with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair defects, cervical cancer, renal cell carcinoma, endometrial carcinoma, triple-negative breast cancer, adenocarcinoma of the stomach or gastroesophageal junction, and cholangiocarcinoma.

K Hospital is planning to purchase Pembroria medicine for use in patients in the near future.

The hospital also said that not all patients with the cancers listed above are prescribed pembrolizumab.

The use of pembrolizumab also depends on many factors such as: the patient's health condition, tumor mutation type, disease stage... assessed by oncologists.

At K Hospital, treatment will be individualized for each patient. Based on many factors, the doctor will advise and provide a suitable treatment regimen to ensure effective treatment for the patient.

Also according to K Hospital, pembrolizumab is the name of the active ingredient (the active ingredient of the drug) invented by the American company MSD with the trade name Keytruda, 100 mg/4 ml vial. Pembrolizumab is essentially a monoclonal antibody against PD-1 and is a biological drug indicated for some types of cancer, belonging to the immunotherapy group. The drug is administered by intravenous infusion at a medical facility.

Keytruda was licensed for circulation in Vietnam by the Drug Administration of Vietnam, Ministry of Health since 2017. Currently, Keytruda is approved by the Ministry of Health for 14 indications including: malignant melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, classical Hodgkin lymphoma, urothelial carcinoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, gastric cancer, cancer with high-grade microsatellite instability, cervical cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, colorectal cancer with high-grade microsatellite instability or mismatch repair defect, primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma, esophageal cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, renal cell carcinoma.

Keytruda medicine currently costs about 62 million VND/bottle.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/benh-vien-k-co-ke-hoach-mua-thuoc-dieu-tri-ung-thu-cua-nga-185251113194222736.htm