Sycume thyroid meds added to national drug reimbursement list

The Beijing Tongren Hospital's oculoplastic department on Sunday issued the first prescription for Sycume, a thyroid eye disease medication newly covered under China's updated national drug reimbursement list.

Effective from Jan 1, the updated list adds 114 new drugs, including 50 first-in-class innovative medicines, bringing the total number of covered drugs to 3,253, according to the National Healthcare Security Administration.

Sycume, among the newly added drugs, is an injection developed by Innovent Biologics in Shanghai. It is used to alleviate symptoms such as bulging eyes, inflammation, and double vision in patients with moderate to severe thyroid eye disease. The medication received market approval in China in March.

Li Dongmei, a professor at the hospital, highlighted that under the new list, the price of the injection has dropped from about 15,000 yuan ($2,148) per dose to less than 6,000 yuan. After insurance reimbursement, patients can save about 10,000 yuan per dose compared to the previous cost.

"Including this medicine in the reimbursement list not only reduces treatment costs but also allows more patients to access effective and safe therapies in a timely manner," she said.