Hongkongers to pay only HK$240 a year for leukaemia drug after system shake-up
Hospital Authority says it began subsidising Dasatinib in April, with patients previously paying up to HK$500,000 annually for treatment
More than 400 cancer patients are set to benefit from Hong Kong health authorities’ decision to subsidise a leukaemia drug, reducing annual treatment costs from up to HK$500,000 (US$63,800) to just HK$240.
The Hospital Authority said on Wednesday that it began subsidising the medication, Dasatinib, in April, with the government expected to allocate an additional HK$49 million in annual spending to help cover the cost.
As part of the move, Dasatinib was reclassified from a “self-financed item” to a “special drug” in the authority’s medication database.
This means patients can buy it at a subsidised cost, regardless of their financial status, as long as they meet the relevant clinical criteria.
The authority also announced that more Hong Kong residents could now qualify for a drug subsidy fund, following a relaxation of its means-tested criteria based on patients’ salaries and assets.
William Chui Chun-ming, the authority’s chief pharmacist, said Dasatinib’s reclassification was a result of emerging new data that illustrated its effectiveness.