Japan MHW Policies Criticized by PhRMA

The chairman of the Pharmaceutical research and Manufacturers of America, Sheldon Gilgore, has urged Japan's Ministry of Health and Welfare to consider seriously the long-term implications of some of its "so-called cost-containment mechanisms," which he says are counter-productive as incentives for innovative R&D.

One area that remains of considerable concern, according to Mr Gilgore, speaking at a press conference in Tokyo during a PhRMA visit to Japan last week, is the continuing downward trend of reimbursement prices through Japan's systematic biennial R-zone revisions. Even more disturbing, he added, are the "arbitrary reductions imposed on certain widely-prescribed products earlier this year," which he described as "destabilizing factors in our business."

Japan has the opportunity to be in the forefront of the move by governments towards pursuing policies that encourage continued investment in the quest for new and better pharmaceutical products, according to Mr Gilgore, and he expressed the hope that the MHW would "grasp that opportunity."