Starting next month, health insurance benefits will be applied to treating metastatic breast and gastric cancers with Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) in Korea. 

On Thursday, the Ministry of Health and Welfare convened the Health Insurance Policy Deliberation Committee and approved the revised “Drug Reimbursement List and Benefit Limit Amount Table” to this effect.

More specific targets of coverage include "second-line treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer" and "third-line treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic HER2-positive adenocarcinoma of the stomach or gastroesophageal junction.

The reimbursement for Enhertu is set at 1.41 million won ($1,061) per vial.

Patients with metastatic breast cancer who are HER2-positive have paid about 83 million won per person a year for the drug. With the new benefit, however, the patient burden will drop to 4.17 million won (in the case of breast cancer, with a 5 percent out-of-pocket cost), ministry officials said Friday.

"Including Enhertu in the reimbursement list will provide new treatment opportunities for HER2-positive metastatic breast and stomach cancer patients and ease their financial burden," they added.