China-made cancer drug to go on sale in US after Americans travel to buy it
Global pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca said on Thursday it would start selling a cancer drug after coming under criticism for failing to bring it to the US market faster, prompting some Americans to fly to Shanghai to procure the potentially life-saving medicine first developed by China. In recent months, desperate Americans have travelled to China to obtain the Chinese-made cancer drug that was…
AstraZeneca announced on Thursday that it will introduce a cancer drug made in China to the U.S. market under the name Zegfrovy. The drug, sunvozertinib, was initially developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Dizal Pharmaceutical and received FDA approval in July 2025 for treating advanced lung cancer in adults. Despite the approval, the drug remained unavailable in the U.S. for over a year.
Some Americans have traveled to Shanghai to obtain the medication directly from China. Max Doppelt, a cancer treatment awareness advocate, said he flew to Shanghai in January 2025 to acquire the drug for his mother after it spread to her brain. Doppelt said the drug's availability in China stems from China's rapid advancement in drug discovery and clinical trials.
AstraZeneca secured worldwide rights to develop and sell Zegfrovy from Dizal Pharmaceutical in a deal worth $1.5 billion, including a $600 million upfront payment and potential royalties. The transaction is expected to finalize in the second half of 2026. Experts argue that the U.S. must reform its drug approval process to ensure patients don't have to seek treatments abroad.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
