Yuhan’s lung cancer treatment to be available to patients at no cost

Yuhan Corp.’s Leclaza [Photo provided by Yuhan]

South Korean pharmaceutical company will provide free supplies of Leclaza (lezertinib), which has expanded its indications as a first-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with positive epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations, to local patients until it is covered by health insurance.

The move is aimed at improving patients’ accessibility in a situation where there is no third-generation targeted anticancer drug eligible for insurance coverage as a first-line treatment.

In a press conference on Monday, Yuhan announced the Early Assess Program (EAP) for Leclaza as a first-line treatment.

“Since the end of last year, we have received numerous requests from lung cancer patients that want to be treated with third-generation drugs through the National Assembly and the Ministry of Health and Welfare,” said Cho Wook-je, chief executive officer of Yuhan.

“Following our founding spirit of social contribution, we have decided to implement the EAP as soon as possible so that patients can receive treatment with Leclaza as quickly as possible before it is covered by insurance,” the CEO said.

The company did not impose restrictions on the number of medical institutions or patients eligible for the Leclaza EAP program.

All patients that meet the indications for first-line treatment with Leclaza, including those with previously untreated locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with EGFR exon 19 deletion or exon 21 (L858R) substitution mutations, are eligible.

Leclaza can be administered as a first-line treatment in nationwide secondary and tertiary medical institutions. The program operates through the approval of each medical institution’s institutional review board and after rigorous evaluation by the attending physician and voluntary consent from the patient.

The program will continue to operate until Leclaza becomes eligible for insurance coverage as a first-line treatment.

Leclaza is a targeted anticancer drug for patients with EGFR genomic mutations in non-small cell lung cancer. Lung cancer is classified into small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer based on the size and shape of cancer cells, with non-small cell lung cancer accounting for 80 to 85 percent of cases, overwhelmingly higher than small cell lung cancer.

As of 2021, there are an estimated 110,000 lung cancer patients in Korea, with around 90,000 estimated to have non-small cell lung cancer.

Currently, the local first-line treatment market in this field is dominated by first- and second-generation drugs such as Iressa and Tagrisso.

Although AstraZeneca Plc’s third-generation drug, Tagrisso, received approval in 2018, it has repeatedly failed to surpass the insurance coverage threshold, resulting in an annual cost that exceeds 70 million won ($53,580).

Yuhan’s Leclaza was also expected to be supplied at a similar level to the price of Tagrisso if it did not receive insurance coverage.