New Donepezil & a dilemma over low drug prices

It's negative for the drug price calculation

Hypezil Powder 5mg (left) and Icure

Domestic pharmaceutical companies are releasing a new form of Donepezil, a component of dementia treatment, but existing low-cost drugs are acting as a dilemma.

 

Donepezil accounts for about 80% of dementia treatments, so competition among the same products is fierce.

 

As there are 150 pharmaceutical companies with the same ingredient products, the drug price is breaking the lowest price every time.

 

According to the industry on the 7th, Hyundai's Donepezil, Hypezil Powder 5mg, has been applied to the market since this month.

 

This product is expected to be useful for patients who have difficulty swallowing existing tablets because it can be taken in water.

 

The upper limit is 1,700 won.

 

The MFDS recognized this product as a new formulation and approved it as a drug that submitted data.

 

Therefore, if the drug price is calculated based on the standard for calculating the drug price, there is a possibility that the upper limit amount will be determined at 90% of the highest price of the existing product with the same ingredient.

 

As the highest price of Donepezil 5mg is 2,060 won, 90% of this price is 1,854 won.

 

However, Hyundai voluntarily lowered the price from the calculation standard and registered it as 1,700 won.

 

In fact, 1700 won is also a high price based on the Donpezil 5mg.

 

Because the current lowest price is 500 won.

 

As 127 pharmaceutical companies compete for Donepezil 5mg alone, the lowest price is breaking every time a generic comes out.

 

Therefore, it is analyzed that Hyundai, which is releasing new products, had no choice but to take into account the price competitiveness of the Donepezil market.

 

Among the new Donpezil formulations, the patch system is expected to be released as early as the next day.

 

This is because Donerion Patch (Celltrion) was conditionally passed by the Committee of the HIRA in May, are at the end of drug price negotiations.

 

Since Daewoong Pharmaceutical's Fexuclu, which passed the committee's review on the same day, released this month, Celltrion and Icure's Donpezil defeat are also expected to be listed soon.

 

The Committee judged that the benefit was appropriate when accepting less than the evaluation amount, but the industry believes that the committee calculated the drug price lower than the pharmaceutical company's expectations.

 

Developer Icure was also initially in a position to release the drug at a lower price than the original drug Aricept, but it is said that a lower drug price was suggested.

 

The industry analyzes that if alternative drugs were included, they would fall short of the company's expectations.

 

For example, the average price of the original and generic 10mg is 2,040 won, which is cheaper than the original Aricept 10mg (2,265 won) as well as the developer Icure's Penedo 10mg (2,460 won).

 

Considering the compliance of dementia patients, it is analyzed that the use of patch drugs is better, so even if the drug price is low, it can record high performance due to its high usage.

 

The market seems to be at a disadvantage for product developers because Donepezil prices are too low.