KRW 100 bil loxoprofen market suffers reimb cuts

amid surge in prescriptions

HIRA makes pre-announcement on the removal of loxoprofen’s antipyretic analgesic indication from reimbursement

Use of loxoprofen as an antipyretic analgesic had increased during the COVID-19 pandemic

Pharmaceutical companies inevitably lose prescriptions if they lose reimbursement

Industry concerns are rising on the announcement of reimbursement cuts for the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug ‘loxoprofen.’ The adequacy of its reimbursement as an antipyretic/analgesic for acute upper respiratory tract inflammation has not been recognized by the authorities in Korea, and its scope of prescriptions is set to be narrowed as a result.

 

As reimbursement for this particular indication has rapidly increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, the losses felt by pharmaceutical companies are expected to be even greater.

 

According to industry sources on the 13th, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service concluded that only 2 out of the 3 indications for loxoprofen are eligible for reimbursement after deliberating the reevaluation results submitted regarding the reimbursement adequacy of insured drugs in 2023.

 

Until now, loxoprofen was reimbursed as ▲an anti-inflammatory and analgesic for chronic rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis), back pain, periarthritis, and glenohumeral syndrome; ▲an anti-inflammatory and analgesic used post-operative, trauma and tooth extraction’ and as ▲an antipyretic and analgesic for acute upper respiratory infection.

 

Among the three, the authorities determined the drug inadequate for reimbursement as an ‘antipyretic and analgesic for acute upper respiratory tract infection,’ and preannounced its removal from the reimbursement list.

 

From the company’s perspective, they will have to bear the loss of prescriptions that had been made for the specific indication.

 

Quarterly outpatient prescriptions of Loxoprofen (Unit: KRW 100 million, Data: UBIST)

According to the market research institution UBIST, the amount of outpatient prescriptions for loxoprofen last year amounted to KRW 103.5 billion.

 

From the pharmaceutical company's perspective, the over-KRW 100 billion annual prescription markets will inevitably contract with the reimbursement removal.

 

The losses felt by pharmaceutical companies are expected to be even greater given that sales of that particular indication for loxoprofen had risen rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

The prescription amount for loxoprofen preparations increased by 6.6% from KRW 78.3 billion in 2018 to KRW 83.5 billion in 2019, but then decreased to KRW 74.9 billion and KRW 72.4 billion in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

 

At the time, COVID-19 was pointed out as the direct cause of the declining loxoprofen prescription market.

 

After the spread of COVID-19, the number of patients with infectious diseases such as flu and colds plummeted due to strengthened personal hygiene management such as washing hands and wearing masks, and the market for related treatments had also decreased significantly However, its prescriptions soared thereafter to KRW 103.5 billion, up 43% YoY.

 

The rise of confirmed COVID-19 cases which amounted to hundreds of thousands of cases per day had significantly increased the demand for loxoprofen.

 

In terms of quarterly prescriptions, loxoprofen showed rapid growth after recording KRW 17.6 billion in Q3 2021, increasing 12.1% YoY, surging to KRW 19.8 billion in Q4.

 

In Q1 last year, prescriptions for loxoprofen amounted to KRW 24.9 billion, up 47.9% YoY,.

 

Its sales from Q2 to Q4 last year, recording over 30% growth rate compared to the previous year.

 

Its growth continued this year as well.

 

In 1H last year, loxoprofen prescriptions amounted to KRW 56 billion, rising 14.2% YoY.

 

Prescriptions in Q1 were KRW 26.9 billion, up 8.0% YoY, and in Q2, prescriptions increased 20.4% YoY to KRW 29.1 billion.

 

The recent increase in loxoprofen prescriptions appears to also have been influenced by the increase in cold and flu patients after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

If the indication for ‘antipyretic and analgesic for acute upper respiratory tract infection,’ which has been bringing the most growth, is removed from reimbursement, the losses felt by pharmaceutical companies will inevitably be significant.

 

The restrictions made on loxoprofen’s reimbursement are expected to have an impact on the entire domestic pharmaceutical industry.

 

According to HIRA, 125 pharmaceutical companies have loxoprofen drugs that are listed for reimbursement.

 

Shing Poong Pharm, Hutecs Korea Pharmaceutical, Huons, Genuone Science, and Dongwha Pharm have recorded the highest prescriptions in Korea’s loxoprofen market.

 

Hutecs Korea Pharmaceutica’s Lexofen Tab posted the highest prescriptions of KRW 5.5 billion last year.

 

Huons' Hurophen and Shinpoong Pharmaceutical's Loxofen recorded prescriptions of KRW 4.3 billion and KRW 4.1 billion, respectively.

 

Genuone Science’s Genuone Loxoprofen and Dongwha Pharm’s Loxonine Dongwha followed with prescription sales of KRW 3.7 billion each.