With ‘Tagrisso’ once again failing to expand its reimbursement, it seems that it may take a while for 3rd generation EGFR TKIs to be prescribed as 1st-line in Korea.

According to industry sources, the Cancer Disease Review Committee of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) decided it was inappropriate to expand the reimbursement of Tagrisso to first-line in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

After receiving approval to extend its indication to first-line treatment in December 2018, AstraZeneca first applied for the expanded reimbursement in 2019. However, the Cancer Disease Review Committee in October that year decided to defer the decision until full data