Roche and Jiangsu Province Bring Down High Cost of Breast Cancer Drug

For three years, Roche has been subsidizing the cost of its breast cancer drug Herceptin in parts of China. In Jiangsu province, the company has been donating 8 free vials of the drug for every six vials the province buys at the regular price, effectively creating a 57% discount. Jiangsu province itself now kicks in an additional 67% of the cost, making the drug even more affordable for its cancer patients. As pointed out in a Bloomberg story, the net effect is to reduce a $36,200 cost of treatment down to $5,300. Roche is being generous, but it also has a selfish motive: it hopes to prevent regulators from allowing a China biopharma to produce the drug at a lower cost. More details....

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