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, and will go from paying up to HK$500,000 (US$63,800) a year for treatment to forking out just HK$240.

The Hospital Authority said on Wednesday that it began subsidising the medication, Dasatinib, in April, with the government expected to set aside 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.

Discussing the reclassification of Dasatinib, William Chui Chun-ming, the authority’s chief pharmacist, said the decision was due to the medication being positioned as a second-line treatment for leukaemia under international guidelines.