Import tariffs on cancer drugs cut to zero
Business & Technology
China may be about to levy huge taxes on American imports like sorghum and soy, but this week, it removed all import tariffs on cancer drugs.
- All types of cancer treatments, including chemotherapy drugs, alkaloid-based drugs, and imported traditional Chinese medicines used for cancer, will be exempted from import duties, according to Xinhua News Agency (in Chinese).
- The average total out-of-pocket cost of cancer patients receiving diagnosis and treatment is currently between 140,000 yuan ($22,105) and 220,000 yuan ($34,737), according to a recent study cited by Xinhua. The tariff cut is expected to lower costs by about 20 percent.
- “Patients with breast cancer and lymphoma are undoubtedly the most excited,” says Xinhua, as there are no suitable locally-produced drugs such as trastuzumab and rituximab.
- In other cancer drug news, Caixin reports (paywall) that Innovent, a Suzhou-based biotech startup, has closed a new $150 million funding round, which it will use to “accelerate its clinical trial work” on biologically based anti-cancer drugs known as PD-1 inhibitors.
Also on The China Project:
Why is breast cancer spiking in China? – China’s latest top news
