Japanese government committee has kicked off reform on drug pricing system

Revision of drug pricing rules in Japan gained momentum when the Council of Regulatory Reforms (CRR) discussed the matter on August 1. While the agenda for NHI (National Health Insurance) reimbursement prices has been administered by the Drug Pricing Subcommittee of Central Social Insurance Medical Council (CSIMC) for many years, the reform council of the Cabinet Office with higher order in the government set basis for a reform plan.

The Medical Care Working Group of CRR announced a proposal that requested drug pricing system to be reformed in order to address three objectives as follows:

(1) To accelerate access to effective treatments for patients;
(2) To enhance global competitiveness of Japan’s medical science; and
(3) To achieve better control of National Health Insurance budget.