Price cuts for Lixiana and Lenvima due to increased usage

MOHW to amend drug reimbursement list from May 1st

Hanwha Donepezil, etc. applies for voluntary price cuts…Price of Eloxatin·Alimta reduced due to increased scope of usage

Prices of Daiichi Sankyo Korea’s Lixiana tab.

 

(edoxaban tosylate hydrate), Eisai Korea’s Lenvima cap.

 

(Lenvatinib mesilate), and Janssen Korea’s Trenfya Pre-filled Syringe inj.

 

(guselkumab_genetic recombination) are expected to fall by 2.5% to 4.5% due to their increased usage.

 

Prices of 10 products including Han Wha Pharma’s Hanwha Topiramate Tablet, Hanwha Donepezil Tablet, and Yooyoung Pharmaceutical’s Cnoxane Injection will also fall by 5.8% to 28.8% at most, following voluntary price cut requests by the companies.

 

Also due to an expansion in the scope of usage, prices of Sanofi-Aventis Korea’s Eloxatin inj., and Lilly Korea’s Alimta inj.

 

will be cut by 1.5% and 2.6% in advance.

 

According to industry officials, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) will make amendments to its drug reimbursement list on May 1st that contains the abovementioned changes.

 

◆Price-volume agreement type ‘A’ = Next month, three products will be applied type ‘A’ of the Price-Volume Agreement (PVA), a system used to manage prices of post-listed drugs.

 

PVA Type A is applied to new drugs that were through drug pricing negotiations for which the actual claims amount of the same drug exceeds over 30% of the expected volume discussed during the negotiation; in which case the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) and the pharmaceutical company undergo further negotiation to reduce the price.

 

Accordingly, the prices of Eisai Korea’s Lenvima cap.

 

4mg and 10mg will be cut by 2.5% each, and Janssen Korea’s Trenfya Pre-filled Syringe inj.

 

by 4.5%.

 

◆Price-volume agreement type ‘B’ = In addition, three products that fall under PVA type 'B’ will be listed next month after negotiations.

 

PVA Type B is applied to new drugs that have been listed for 4 years that did not receive pricing adjustments under Type A, but the actual claims amount of the same drug exceeds over 30% of the expected claims amount and requires adjustment of its ceiling price.

 

From the eligible drugs, NHIS negotiates with the pharmaceutical companies whose claims amount ▲increased over 60% from the previous year or ▲increased by 10% but the amount exceeds 5 billion won.

 

Under PVA Type B, prices of Daiichi Sankyo Korea’s Lixiana Tablet 15mg, 30mg, and 60mg will be each reduced by 2.7%.

 

◆Products that applied for voluntary price cuts = When a pharmaceutical company applies to lower the drug price of its listed drug to an amount lower than the set ceiling price, the government adjusts the insurance drug price of the product to the requested amount.

 

Among 10 products that voluntarily requested price cuts, 8 are Han Wha Pharma’s products.

 

Price of Hanwha Topiramate tab.

 

100mg will fall by 10.1%; Hanwha Quetiapine tab.

 

25mg by 8.4% and 100mg by 14.1%; Hanwha Escitalopram tab.

 

5mg by 19.5% and 10mg by 22.3%; and Hanwha Donepezil tab.

 

10mg by 11.9% and 5mg by 28.8%.

 

Price of YooYoung Pharm’s Cnoxane inj.

 

60mg will also be reduced by 5.8%, and 80mg by 11%.

 

◆Price cuts in advance for expanded scope of use = Also, the government reduces prices of drugs taking into account the expected increase in the claims amount and rate of increase of drugs that received approval for expanded scope of usage through additional indications, etc.

 

According to the price-cut formula, drugs with an expected additional claims amount of 7.5 billion won to 10 billion won will undergo price cuts between 3.6% to 5%, according to the rate of increase in their claims amount.

 

4 products will undergo price cuts in advance due to the expanded scope of usage.

 

The price of Sanofi-Aventis Korea’s Eloxatin inj.

 

5mg/mL will be cut by 1.5% for each strength, and Lilly Korea’s Alimta Injection will be cut by 2.6% for each strength.