Japan's MHLW notes US industry's opposition to annual drug price revisions

It has been revealed that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare takes account of the US government opposition to annual drug price revision in the Sixth Report to the Leaders on the US-Japan Regulatory Reform and Competition Policy Initiative which was published by the Foreign Ministry this month.

The US-Japan Regulatory Reform and Competition Policy Initiative, which was launched in June 2001, was established as a bilateral forum to promote economic growth via regulatory reform in order to address a broad range of regulatory/industry sector and cross-sector issues. The outcomes are reported annually to the leaders of the governments through the Initiative Report.

In the pharmaceutical sector of the report, the Health Ministry will commit to take certain actions on the National Health Insurance drug price revision in fiscal 2007. In brief, the report says that: