JAPAN'S HEALTH CARE "EVOLUTION"

Bill Steere, board chairman of the US Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association and president of Pfizer Inc, has lauded Japan's health care system during a visit this month. He said PMA companies support the "evolutionary" direction of changes within the Japanese system, which are being made in a composed and measured way, with less fanfare than those in the USA.

He cited as examples the recent revisions in the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law, shifting of emphasis from acute care to chronic care, stress put on early detection of disease and primary care, and efforts to promote the proper use of drugs. But as impressive as any particular reform, he said, is the spirit of cooperation and frank communication enjoyed by PMA companies in their relations with policymakers, participants and providers in Japan's health care system. He noted the strong ties with the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association and the European Business Council in Japan, with whom the PMA shares common positions on most issues, and applauded the Ministry of Health and Welfare's (Koseisho) efforts to communicate with the industry through quarterly meetings established last year.

He applauded the Koseisho's ongoing efforts toward simplification of the regulatory environment and greater transparency, and added that Japan was playing an important role in the international effort to rationalize guidelines for the approval and regulation of pharmaceuticals, noting that it will host the third International Conference on Harmonization in 1995.