BRIEF—Ohara Pharma cuts price of generic drug for leukemia in Japan

Japanese drugmaker Ohara Pharmaceutical has reduced the price of its generic drug for leukemia to about half the price of the generic drugs sold by its competitors to encourage leukemia patients to use more affordable medication, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun.

The drug is prescribed mainly to those who are suffering from chronic myelocytic leukemia.

The original medicine, Glivec (imatinib) from Swiss pharma giant Novartis, which was put on the market in 2001, is known for its effectiveness against the disease, as its users have a five-year survival rate of more than 90%.

However, in the face of generic completion, Glivec global sales tumbled 42% to $1.94 billion in 2017.

The generic version of Glivec was released in 2014. The price of Glivec’s generic equivalent is about half that of the original, the Japanese newspaper stated.