Experts Urge Reform to Prevent Delays in Blood Cancer Treatment Coverage
To prevent delays in reimbursement for new blood cancer treatments, experts are urging an increase in the number of 슬롯 무료 사이트 specialists on the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) evaluation committee.
A review of last year’s Severe Disease (Cancer) Review Committee results by Hit News on March 30 revealed that reimbursement criteria were not established for several blood cancer treatments, including Columvi (glofitamab) from Roche Korea, Epkinly (epcoritamab) from AbbVie Korea, and Tecvayli (teclistamab) from Janssen Korea.
The Korean Society of 슬롯 무료 사이트 and industry stakeholders emphasize that reimbursement criteria should consider the unique characteristics of blood cancers, which have diverse subtypes. They point out that because blood cancers are rare, patient recruitment for clinical trials is challenging, and demonstrating long-term outcomes such as overall survival (OS) is difficult.
Experts also stress the need for a proactive approach to initial treatment. Blood cancer patients exhibit diverse cellular characteristics, and bispecific antibody therapies, which can be administered over a short period, have the potential to reduce long-term treatment costs.
At a press conference, Professor Ho-young Im of Jeonbuk National University Hospital’s 슬롯 무료 사이트-Oncology Department highlighted that only six out of the 41 committee members specializing in cancer evaluation are hematologists. He emphasized that leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma each require distinct treatment approaches, but the current structure does not adequately reflect this expertise.
Additionally, he warned that delays in reimbursement in Korea are contributing to lower survival rates compared to other countries with similar patient cohorts. To address this issue, he proposed either increasing the number of 슬롯 무료 사이트 specialists on the committee or establishing a separate expert panel dedicated to evaluating blood cancer treatments.
The pharmaceutical industry shares this concern. An industry representative stated, “Compared to solid tumors, it is more difficult to find experts specializing in blood cancers. Given the diversity of subtypes and the distinct characteristics of each disease, specialized expertise is essential.” If recruiting more specialists within the existing committee proves difficult, they suggested establishing an independent expert panel as an alternative solution.