Eight new drugs added to Japan's NHI list by MHLW

Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has added eight new drugs (five New Chemical Entities, one new formulation, a new dosage and a new administration route) including Vesicare (solifenacin succinate), Zoloft (sertraline) and Detrusitol (tolterodine tartrate) to the National Health Insurance drug price list effective June 1.

Astellas Pharmaceutical's Vesicare was priced at 119.70 yen ($1.06) and 201.60 yen for 2.5mg and 5mg tablets, respectively. The forecast sales of the drug, for the treatment of urgency incontinence and urinary frequency, for the first year and at peak in the ninth are 4.4 billion yen and 21.3 billion yen, respectively, according to the Chuikyo (Central Social Insurance Medical Council).

The prices of Pfizer's serotonin selective reuptake inhibitor Zoloft, for the treatment of depression and panic disorder, are 137.20 yen and 241.10 yen for 25mg and 50mg tablets, respectively. The estimated sales of the drug for the first year and at peak in the sixth are 2.26 billion yen and 48.22 yen, respectively.