Japanese drug price reductions give domestic pharma incentive to globalize

Japanese manufacturers feel defeated by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. "We were steamrolled into accepting the National Health Insurance drug price revision," Takayoshi Mukaida, chairman of the NHI Drug Pricing Study Committee of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations of Japan and senior corporate officer for external relations at drug major Astellas Pharma, said at a recent press briefing on the NHI drug price revision in Tokyo. He is also a member of the expert committee on the NHI drug pricing at the Chuikyo (Central Social Insurance Medical Council).

The expert committee held meetings to discuss NHI drug pricing matters 10 times to compile the reform plan from April 2005 through January 2006. Mr Mukaida has expressed the FPMAJ's position toward the NHI drug pricing in order to try to reflect its views and proposals on the reform plan (Marketletter March 13).

However, he said that the Chuikyo has accepted only the proposals for the additional premiums on new drugs and pediatric medicines among what they have proposed. Especially, he feels very concerned that an extraordinary price reduction method was expanded for the long-listed products with generic competition, which the FPMAJ has strongly opposed. The average price reduction rate of 6.7% is the "biggest one in recent years despite of the shrinkage of the NHI drug price discrepancy," Mr Mukaida said.