In a move certain to escalate tensions between South Korea and the pharmaceutical industry, the government is planning steps designed to lower the prices it pays for drugs under its universal health insurance system. Under the new plan, the government will reevaluate... Read More
Local representatives of foreign medical products firms in Hong Kong will be required to strengthen their procedures for handling, storing and delivering medical devices under new guidelines being proposed by the government. The draft rules on local responsible persons (LRPs), who serve... Read More
As the number of diabetes patients continues to rise in China, so does the prevalence of end-stage kidney disease—and the demand for dialysis treatment. According to a report released in April by the National Institute of Health Data Science at Peking University,... Read More
Seeking to encourage pharmaceutical companies to market urgently needed new drugs already approved in the United States, China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) is waiving the requirement for clinical trials on 30 such therapies. The list published by the NMPA on March... Read More
Moving to speed the introduction of new pharmaceuticals to consumers, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health will exempt certain innovative drugs already tested abroad from the requirement they undergo domestic clinical trials. According to the March announcement—long hoped for by pharmaceutical firms—the ministry will... Read More
Moving to give patients faster access to new medicines, the Indian Health Ministry will waive a requirement that new drugs undergo clinical trials in India if they have already been approved in certain other markets. The New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules,... Read More
China is expected to update its list of medicines covered by government medical insurance plans in June, dropping some drugs with low clinical value for innovative treatments that are urgently needed. Authorities are also likely to adjust the prices it pays manufacturers... Read More
Moving to address a chronic shortage of drug treatments for cancer patients, Chinese health authorities in February announced several new policies to bring urgently needed cancer pharmaceuticals to market. The National Medical Products Administration and the National Health Commission will make it... Read More
Pushing to make critically needed pharmaceuticals more affordable, India is restricting trade margins on the selling prices of dozens of cancer drugs. The move announced in February 2019 by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) caps trade margins of 42 cancer drugs... Read More
The Japanese government is beginning to ease restrictions on drug imports – speeding the review and approval of new products, improving the transparency of the process and widening access to medical data. A streamlined Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) approval... Read More