Looming tipping point for Japan pharma

Changes to Japan’s drug reimbursement system care are inevitable.  The only questions are the extent of changes and when they will be implemented. We should have answers to these questions at year end so they can be implemented in April 2018, says P Reed Maurer, long-time Japan pharma watcher and president of International Alliances Limited in his regular column for The Pharma Letter.

Forces driving change

For a very long time the growth of medical expenses paralleled the growth of Gross National Product (GNP), money saved by cutting drug reimbursement prices was used to increase medical fees, and the population was relatively young. Recently these factors completely changed. GNP growth slowed and medical expenses increased. Doctors’ political power weakened so the growth of medical fees was curtailed. The population aged, thus becoming more intensive users of the health care system.