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- 2025-12-22 19:03:16
- Policy
- We need to increase the rate of PO tx for COVID-19 crisis
- by Lee, Jeong-Hwan Aug 19, 2022 05:53am
- In order to respond to the increase in the number of patients with COVID-19, it was pointed out that the prescription rate of treatments such as Paxlovid should be raised more than now, while continuing to maintain an environment where prescriptions are quickly prescribed. It was also suggested that the fast track of the COVID-19 high-risk oral drug prescription currently prepared by the government should be repeatedly checked, and the fast track system should not be predicted to continue to be sustainable. On the 17th, Jeong Ki-seok, chairman of the National Advisory Committee on Infectious Disease Crisis Response, made this announcement at a regular briefing on COVID-19. Chairman Chung Ki-seok positively assessed that the prescription rate of oral treatments, which stood at only 4% earlier this year, has now risen to 20%. Chung's assessment is that the prescription rate of PO drugs must rise steadily to be effective in responding to critical patients. He stressed that it is very important to secure a system that can prescribe PO drugs quickly and continue to check. Chairman Chung said, "The government is preparing a lot of PO drugs, but the medicine does not solve it." He said, "The system that can be prescribed the fastest in the right time is important. This is why experts strongly recommended fast-track operation to the government," he explained. Chairman Chung added, "We are operating a fast track, but the government should check for other system that allows high-risk groups to receive treatment first and receive treatment first," adding, "We should not predict that this will continue to be sustainable just because we have it in place." The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it will do its best to secure additional medical institutions and pharmacies handling oral drugs. Currently, there are only 274 places that prescribe treatments taken at or above the general hospital level and only 7 upper-level general hospitals. Park Hyang, head of the central disaster management headquarters, said, "There are about 10,000 one-stop hospitals, but it is true that the number of high-level general hospitals or general hospitals that can be opened at night is small." There will be more medication in the future," she said. "I heard opinions on why the drug progress is slow at the medical field, and there were problems with pharmacy issues and outpatient prescriptions," Park Hyang said. "In the case of Paxlovid, it seems still difficult to combine them." "Although 2,000 pharmacies have been previously secured, we are preparing to designate additional pharmacies at any time if there is an additional on-site request," she said. She added, "We will continue to listen to opinions from the medical field and supplement them."
- Policy
- KDCA opposes use of Paxlovid in healthy 50s
- by Lee, Jeong-Hwan Aug 18, 2022 05:48am
- The disease control and prevention authorities have expressed opposition to the plan to lower the prescription age for Pfizer’s oral COVID-19 treatment, Paxlovid, to those in their 50s, on grounds of domestic Emergency Use Authorization standards. The decision was influenced by the fact that eligibility for Paxlovid had already been extended to those over the age of 50 with underlying diseases and that no efficacy evaluation results exist for its use in healthy adults in their 50s. On the 16th, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said, “Paxlovid can be prescribed to patients aged 12 years or older including those in their 50s that have risk factors such as underlying diseases.” NA Health and Welfare Committee member Jong-Seong Lee of the People Power Party had pointed out the need to review lowering the prescription age for Paxlovid to those in their 50s. Paxlovid is currently granted emergency use without an official marketing authorization in Korea. Under the EUA, patients who are confirmed with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 and are at high risk for progression to severe disease must satisfy additional standards to receive Paxlovid. The patient must additionally satisfy one or more of the following standards: 60 years or older who are immunocompromised, or 40 years or older with underlying diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney diseases, chronic lung disease, BMI over 30kg/㎡) The KDCA, which made the decision to expand Paxlovid’s eligibility to those in their 50s with underlying diseases in February (effective from February 7th), expressed skepticism on increasing the scope to those in their 50s who do not have underlying diseases. The KDCA said, “The subjects eligible for Paxlovid's use were set based on the efficacy evaluations results within the Emergency Use Authorization granted by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, in patients with risk for progression to severe disease because Paxlovid was found effective in the set target group.” The KDCA added, “Also, if a patient has risk factors such as underlying diseases, etc.. patients not only over the age of 50 but those who are 12 years or older may be prescribed Paxlovid.”
- Policy
- Why is price different btw patent-expired original/generic
- by Lee, Tak-Sun Aug 18, 2022 05:47am
- The drug price will be lowered to 53.55% of the existing upper limit from the 22nd after losing an administrative lawsuit against the drug price lowered by the anticoagulant Xarelto with the government. As a result, it will be the same as the highest price of generics registered last year. However, the drug price of Xarelto 10mg is expected to be about 20 won higher than the original. What is the reason? First, Xarelto 10mg immediately before generic registration was higher in drug price than Xarelto 15mg or Xarelto 20mg. The original three dosages were the same at 2,626 won at the time of initial registration, but just before the generic registration in July last year, the price of Xarelto 10mg was 2,487 won for Xarelto 15mg and Xarelto 20mg was 2,450. This seems to be a strategy to increase the main capacity of 10mg more. However, as the original low dosage exceeded the high-capacity drug price, the generic drug price needed to be adjusted. This is because the upper limit of low-doset products is calculated to be below the upper limit of high-content products if products with the same company, administration path, ingredients, and formulations are already listed. For this reason, the highest price of Xarelto's generic 10mg was registered at 1,312 won which is the same as Xarelto's generic 15mg and 20mg. The original Xarelto is reduced to 53.55% by calculation formula, making 15mg and 20mg the same as the generic high at 1,312 won, while 10mg becomes Xarelto 1,332 won. In 2012, the principle of patent expiration original-generic identification collapsed due to changes in drug price policy. Since the price difference between the original and generic is not large, the impact on the market is expected to be insignificant. In addition, if a generic that meets the standard requirements and registers only 10mg of Xarelto alone is released, the original upper limit is expected to be the same.
- Policy
- KDCA will announce its plan to inoculate bivalent vaccine
- by Lee, Jeong-Hwan Aug 17, 2022 05:52am
- The domestic quarantine authorities plan to announce vaccination plans at the end of this month, including the subject and use of Moderna's bivalent vaccine for COVID-19 omicron. Moderna bivalent vaccine is still in the pre-application stage, and the intention is to make a plan for use in consideration of the effectiveness and safety of vaccines as well as the quarantine situation and the amount introduced in Korea. Baek Kyung-ran, head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, answered reporters' questions at a regular briefing on COVID-19 on the 16th. Moderna's bivalent vaccine "Moderna COVID-19 Spikevax," called the Omicron vaccine, has been officially approved by British health authorities for the first time in the world on the 15th (local time). Specifically, MHRA conditionally approved the use of Moderna bivalent vaccine for additional inoculations (booster shots) for adults. This is the first time that the Omicron variant COVID-19 vaccine has been officially approved by a government agency. The vaccine is effective in preventing both the early round virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic. Korea is conducting a preliminary evaluation of Moderna bivalent vaccine, and plans to announce a domestic vaccination plan as soon as the official approval review is conducted. Director Baek Kyung-ran said, "We are currently conducting a preliminary evaluation at the request of Moderna regarding Moderna bivalent vaccine. We haven't started any formal deliberations yet," she said. As soon as the review application proceeds, we will announce the use plan at the end of August, considering the effectiveness and safety of the improved vaccine, as well as the quarantine situation, introduction schedule, and quantity.
- Policy
- Novavax vaccine approved for use for 12+ years in Korea
- by Lee, Hye-Kyung Aug 17, 2022 05:52am
- The age eligibility of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine will be extended. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (Minister: Yu-Kyung Oh) announced that it had approved the Post Approval Change Application for the COVID-19 vaccine ‘Nuvaxovid Prefilled Syringe,’ developed by Novavax and manufactured by SK Bioscience, to change the vaccination age from the previous 18 years older to 12 years or older. Nuvaxovid in teens aged 12 to 17 years will be administered as two 0.5ml doses three weeks apart, the same as the dosage and administration approved for those aged 18 years and older. The MFDS determined it was appropriate to extend the allowed age of administration for Nuvaxovid based on clinical data from a trial conducted on adolescents aged 12 through 17 years. Trial results showed that adverse events observed in those aged 12-17 after receiving Nuvaxovid were generally similar to those in people aged 18 years and older, and were well-tolerated. The most common adverse reactions observed were injection site tenderness/pain, headache, myalgia, fatigue, malaise, nausea, arthralgia, etc. The symptoms were mostly mild or moderate and disappeared within a few days after vaccination. Nuvaxovid showed a 79.5% preventive effect on 1799 subjects (1,205 in the vaccine group, 594 in the placebo group), 6 of which in the vaccine group and 14 in the placebo group were confirmed with COVID-19, 7 days after the second vaccination. Also, the neutralizing antibody titer in 400 subjects who were not infected with COVID-19 two weeks after the second vaccination showed that the neutralizing antibody titer of those aged 12 to 17 (390 people) was 1.46 times that of those aged 18-25 (416 people), meeting the required standard. The MFDS said, “We will continue making our best efforts to provide safe and effective vaccines to our people.”
- Policy
- Generic exclusivity of Ticagrelor terminated but no benefits
- by Lee, Tak-Sun Aug 16, 2022 05:47am
- Brilinta, original for Ticagrelor Anti-thrombotic Ticagrelor have disappeared, but no news of generic benefit has been heard. Since the expiration of material patents in November last year, six pharmaceutical companies, including Chong Kun Dang, have registered their benefits, but pharmaceutical companies that have obtained generic exclusivity or later approved have been hesitant to register their benefits. This is because manufacturing costs are high and marketability is insufficient. According to the industry on the 13th, the general exclusivity period of Ticagrelor's generic will end on the 20th.No pharmaceutical company has applied for benefits on the premise of sales since that day. Ticagrelor's original drug is Brilinta of AstraZeneca. The drug expired its material patent on November 20 last year, allowing generics to enter the market after succeeding in subsequent patent challenges. Contrary to expectations, only six pharmaceutical companies registered their benefits at the time. They include Chong Kun Dang, Genuonescience, Samjin, Hana, Alvogen, and Hutecs. Like them, there were 18 more pharmaceutical companies that succeeded in subsequent patent challenges and obtained generic for exclusivity, but they did not register their benefits. This is because raw material prices are expensive and marketability is insufficient. They were also excluded from the generic for exclusivity list. An industry official said, "It is analyzed that the growth potential is not high as existing anti-thrombotic drugs competing with Ticagrelor are in good shape." "There are many companies that are worried about the balance of payments due to the high cost of raw materials," he said. Last year, the original Brilinta recorded 9.7 billion won in outpatient prescriptions based on UBIST. Pharmaceutical companies that failed to acquire generic for exclusivity have also received permission, but there is no movement to register their benefits. Even after the generic for exclusivity period is over, products can be sold only when the original drug patent challenge is successful, but few companies are active. Currently, 41 Ticagrelor generic companies are licensed, but none of them are seen in pharmaceutical companies that are considering entering the market except Chong Kun Dang, which is licensed for salt change drugs. Even Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Yooyoung and Korea Prime dropped their licenses this year. Some companies are said to have applied for and withdrawn their benefits.
- Policy
- Why AZ’s vaccine was used as comparator for SKY Covione
- by Lee, Hye-Kyung Aug 16, 2022 05:46am
- The minutes of the Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Council’s meeting that reviewed the first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine - SK Bioscience’s 'hasCovione multi inj.’ – have now been disclosed. The minutes contained discussions on the reason why a vaccine from a different platform was selected as the control vaccine for SKY Covione, whether its safety is acceptable, and on the adequacy of post-approval safety assurance measures. The CPAC meeting that was held on June 26th, whose minutes were disclosed by the MFDS recently, sought counsel on the safety and efficacy of the homegrown COVID-19 vaccine SKY Covione, which applied for manufacture, sale, and marketing authorization in Korea. An employee from SK Biosience’s Andong L House is filling the Sky Covione formulation (Pic: SK Bioscience) On why a vaccine from a different platform was selected as a control vaccine for SKY Covione, the MFDS explained, “Although it is best to use a comparator from the same platform, a recombinant vaccine using the same platform had only been approved in January this year in Korea, and at a similar period in Europe as well.” “The clinical trial for SKY Covione had been approved in August last year, and no approved vaccines were using the same platform at the time. Therfore, the company had to find the most appropriate control vaccine among available vaccines, all of which were being supplied by the state. The multinational pharmaceutical companies have not approved the use of their vaccines as control vaccines, therefore, AstraZeneca’s vaccine was used as control vaccine in consideration of the approval status and availability of vaccines.” The World Health Organization also states that although using vaccines from the same platformas a control vaccine is advisable if the company cannot secure a vaccine from the same platform, it may use other vaccines as control as long it can demonstrate clear immunogenicity compared to that control vaccine. The MFDS said, “Unlike in the past, all of the vaccines for COVID-19 are being contracted and used by the state. This was why it was difficult for latecomers to obtain a control vaccine, and only AZ’s vaccine was available for use as a control vaccine." Explaining how vaccines based on bridging immunogenicity data are approved under the condition that it submits efficacy evaluations, the MFDS added, “The Ministry will add a condition for the drug’s approval to follow-up for a certain period post-approval to evaluate how much infection is prevented after actual vaccination."
- Policy
- The regulation for shortening the period will be revised
- by Lee, Hye-Kyung Aug 16, 2022 05:46am
- As announced by the government, if the RSA-applied drugs are subject to PE submission, the registration period will be shortened, and even drugs that have proven improvement in children's quality of life will be excluded. The HIRA will pre-announce the "Partial Amendment Regulations on the Evaluation Standards and Procedures for Medical Care Benefits" containing such information and receive opinions by the 30th of next month. The revised regulations are designed to promote national tasks such as shortening the listing period of drugs related to diseases that threaten survival and strengthening access to patients through the expansion of risk-sharing systems. In accordance with Article 11-2 (1) of the Medical Care Benefit Standard, the legal processing period for insurance registration is within 120 days, and in the case of the world's first new drug approved in Korea, the processing period is within 100 days. However, in the case of drugs that manufacturers under Article 7 (2) of the Decision and Adjustment Standard or drugs that fall under Article 13 of the Medical Care Benefit Standard, the treatment period was 150 days, and the drugs evaluated as Table 2 (b) and (c) of the Decision and Adjustment Standard were shortened by 30 days. The HIRA said, "We have prepared an amended regulation to shorten the legal deadline for insurance registration of PE submission exemptions, which are methods of evaluating expensive anticancer drugs and treatments for severe and rare diseases." In addition, PE-submitted omitting drugs included "when there is no product or treatment that is used in children with equal therapeutic location, and clinically meaningful improvement in quality of life or other committees recognize it." The HIRA explained, "Even drugs to prove the quality of life for children can be omitted to submit PE data, allowing RSA to be expanded."
- Policy
- The Price of 4 Xarelto will be cut from the 22nd as planned
- by Kim, Jung-Ju Aug 12, 2022 05:58am
- As the court sided with the government for the four items of the Bayer Korea Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) series, which the government has lowered the insurance drug price through ex officio adjustment and ended the additional application, the drug price cut schedule was set. On the 22nd, the drug price will fall as originally planned by the government. The 11th part of the Seoul High Court recently sided with the Ministry of Health and Welfare in the case of the Xarelto Drug Abatement Cancellation Action (2021-Guhap 65811) filed by the company against the Ministry of Health and Welfare. As the company filed a lawsuit, the price was lowered as the suspension of execution of the drug price cut, which the court accepted, was lifted. Earlier, on May 24, 2021, the Ministry of Health and Welfare lowered the price of four items of the drug series through the revision of the Notice of the Drug Benefit List and the upper limit amount table (Notification No. 2021-147). The government is ex officio adjusting the upper limit price of products with the same administration route, ingredients, and formulations as the first registered products and the lowest registered products when registered as generics. If the first genomic is registered, it is 53.55%, which is added to 70% for one year after adjustment. At that time, the Ministry of Health and Welfare decided to reduce the Xarelto 10mg content, 15mg, 20mg, and 2.5mg content by 30% each, and to drop 23.5~23.6% each as of May 1, 2022, a year later. As a result, the company protested and the suspension of execution has continued for about a year along with the lawsuit. With this close, the price will fall to the official price at the time, and the fixed date will be on the 22nd. However, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said it will inform the company further if there is a change in the price because the possibility of appeal remains, and the court may accept the suspension of execution again.
- Policy
- CKD completes acquiring 3 exclusive licensed items
- by Lee, Tak-Sun Aug 12, 2022 05:58am
- Chong Kun Dang completed the acquisition process for the three items that it signed exclusive sales agreements for with foreign pharmaceutical companies last year. All three items are known to have a prior history with Chong Kun Dang. According to industry sources on the 11th, Chong Kun Dang has been receiving insurance reimbursement for the tranquilizer drug ‘Valium 5mg Tab. (diazepam)’ starting this month. The approval and reimbursement rights for the drug had previously been owned by Roche Korea. However, after the global commercial rights of the drug were transferred from Roche to Pharmanovia, Chong Kun Dang signed an exclusive sales agreement for Valium in Korea with Pharmanovia in August last year. Under the agreement, Chong Kun Dang transferred and acquired the license for Valium Tab. 5mg in Korea, and the reimbursement entity was also changed accordingly. The sales right for the epilepsy treatment Rivotril (clonazepam) in Korea, whose license was also held by Roche Korea, had also been transferred to Chong Kun Dang through a transfer and acquisition process prior to Valium. Accordingly, Rivotril’s reimbursement entity was switched from Roche Korea to Chong Kun Dang in March this year. , whose sales rights was transferred from Roche Korea to Chong Kun Dang In March last year, Chong Kun Dang acquired the exclusive domestic sales right for Rivotril from Cheplapharm, which owns the global commercial rights to Rivotril. Cheplapharm had purchased the global commercial rights for Rivotril from Roche. Both of the drugs had previously been sold by Chong Kun Dang under a joint sales agreement with Roche Korea. Therefore, the interpretation is that the company acquired the exclusive domestic sales right of the two drugs to sell in its pre-established sales networks. In June, the company also completed the transfer and acquisition of the domestic sales right for the anticancer drug ‘Leustatin Inj. (cladribine) ' which had been previously owned by Janssen Korea. Its global commercial rights are also owned by Pharmanovia, and an exclusive domestic sales agreement had been signed for the drug in October last year. This is not the first time Chong Kun Dang had signed exclusive domestic sales agreements with new owners of drugs after the transfer of global commercial rights. The company had previously signed an exclusive sales agreement and acquired the sales rights for the antihypertensive drug ‘Dilatrend’ and obesity treatment ‘Xenical' from Cheplapharm. Chong Kun Dang owns the license and right to reimbursement for the drugs in Korea.
