Over the last 5 years, getting drugs registered in China and available for sale has become more efficient, easier, and a lot quicker. However, China drug pricing is still a major concern. Two drug price reduction schemes are outlined below. First, one... Read More
Hoping to revamp its pharmaceutical landscape, Japan is trying to balance the scales of drug pricing, innovation, and access to cutting-edge medications. These efforts, led by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and the Drug Pricing Organization (DPO), reflect a... Read More
Japan reduces drug prices every two years or more recently yearly. As announced on March 5 in the MHLW’s gazette, starting April 1, drug prices will be reduced by about 4.7% for about 13,000 products including 7,000 oral drugs, 3,600 injectables, 2,000... Read More
IVDs, drugs and medical devices have different reimbursement pathways in Japan. Normally, for all these paths, a reimbursement application is submitted after product approval. Reimbursement is then normally determined within 3-6 months. However, the MHLW is allowing some companies to have a pre-reimbursement meeting. For... Read More
India’s National Cancer Grid (NCG) has sparked industry interest with its innovative approach to drug procurement. The pilot project, involving 23 cancer centers within the NCG network, successfully negotiated prices for 40 crucial oncology drugs, leading to significant cost savings of about... Read More
As noted in our previous monthly new briefs, China has initiated various VBP, DRG, and DIP pricing plans to reduce prices for drugs and devices. China’s VBP program looks to reduce pricing by awarding large volume sales to tender winners. In early... Read More
As reported over the last 6 months, Japan’s MHLW is initiating plans to reduce its drug lag and drug loss problems. Accordingly, the MHLW has increased its budget to expedite drug approvals in 2024 and strengthened its price maintenance plan. In addition,... Read More
As mentioned in our July Pacific Bridge Newsletter, Korea plans to increase drug reimbursement for innovative, cancer and rare disease drugs. This reimbursement increase has been confirmed in the recently released Seoul National University R&DB Research Foundation report. In addition to better... Read More
Taiwan is Asia’s 6th largest drug market with many Western drug companies selling their products there. However, similar to many other drug markets around the world, Taiwan wants to reduce drug prices and government health expenditures. Accordingly, in mid-September, Taiwan’s National Health... Read More
On August 8, the 9th round of Volume Based Procurement (VBP) was released, and the gathering of volume usage was closed on September 11. The 9th round of VBP included 44 drugs, according to the Chinese health authorities. The 44 drugs include... Read More