90% of pricing managers unsatisfied with new drug price

set based on the value recognized for new drugs in Korea

Announced survey results of 56 pricing managers in the industry

Pointed out the need to improve the CDDC...pricing system should be set separately for each indication

Study results showed that about 90% of the drug pricing managers in Korea are not satisfied with the value recognized for new drugs.

 

Recently, a study on ‘'An Industry Survey on Unmet Needs in South Korea’s New Drug Listing System' was published on the online version of the medical science journal Springer (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43441-023-00531-3).

 

6 authors including Professor Jong-Hyuk Lee of the Chung-Ang University College of Pharmacy, expert advisory member Sungju Kim from Lee&Ko participated in the study.

 

The study was conducted with the cooperation of 3 industry associations: Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association, the Korean Research-based Pharmaceutical Industry Association, and the Korea Biomedicine Industry Association.

 

Members of the associations that in charge of insurance drug pricing participated in the study.

 

The total number of respondents was 56, 34% of which were from domestic companies and 66% from multinational pharmaceutical companies.

 

The survey consisted of questions that study the industry's satisfaction with the current insurance system, requests for improvements in the new drug reimbursement listing system, including the pharmacoeconomic evaluation system, pharmacoeconomic evaluation exemption system, and risk-sharing agreement scheme, and the need to introduce systems that have not been introduced to Korea.

 

According to the results, 64.3% and 89.3% of respondents answered that they were dissatisfied with the patient accessibility and value recognition of new drugs, respectively, and answered that institutional improvement for rare diseases was needed the most (41.1%).

 

Regarding the pharmacoeconomic evaluation system, 92.9% said that the ICER threshold needs to be improved.

 

In the risk-sharing system, the reimbursement standard expansion system required improvement (91.1%), and in the risk-sharing agreement scheme, the expansion of target diseases (89.3%) was needed.

 

Also, regarding the reimbursement listing of anticancer drugs, 83.9% answered that the Cancer Disease Review Committee, which determines the reimbursement standards, needs to be improved.

 

In the case of general drugs, the majority of respondents said that the drug price negotiation system needs to be improved.

 

When asked about the need to introduce a system that is yet to be introduced, respondents expressed a high need to introduce a drug pricing system by indication and insisted that the system should be introduced regardless of the severity of the disease, whereas the pre-listing post-evaluation system should be limitedly applied to life-threatening diseases.

 

Sungju Kim said, “In general, study results showed low satisfaction with the current system and a great need for its improvement.

 

As pharmaceutical companies are also important stakeholders, their opinions should also be considered in the process of pricing and reimbursement policy reforms.”