In Depth: New Innovative Drug List Could Expand Access to Costly Breakthroughs

For parents like Qin Fang, hope arrived in a bottle this July — followed immediately by a dose of harsh reality.

A new oral suspension, vamorolone, offered a treatment for her son’s Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare genetic disorder that relentlessly weakens his muscles. But the price tag, 22,480 yuan ($3,100) per bottle, translates to an annual cost exceeding 200,000 yuan for a small child, placing it far beyond the reach of many families.