Forxiga price cut enforcement suspension extended

The court decides whether to quote suspension of execution at the end of this month or early next month

Temporary insurance drug price maintained until trial

A decision on whether to suspend the execution of drug price cuts for AstraZeneca Korea’s diabetes treatments Forxiga and Xigduo is expected to be decided at the end of this month at the earliest.

 

The temporary suspension period, originally until May 19, is also extended.

 

On the 16th, the first division of the Seoul Administrative Court held an interrogation date for the suspension of drug price cuts filed by AstraZeneca Korea against the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

 

The court, which conducted a private interrogation, decided to decide whether to quote a suspension of execution between the end of this month and the beginning of next month.

 

As the court’s decision on whether to suspend enforcement is over 19 days away, the temporary suspension period for drug price cuts is also expected to be extended.

 

Previously, the court had temporarily maintained the drug price until May 19, the scheduled date of the suspension trial.

 

Forxiga and Xigduo, SGLT-2 inhibitors, are blockbuster products that raise outpatient prescriptions worth 90 billion won yearly as Dapagliflozin-based diabetes treatments.

 

However, as a number of generics containing dapagliflozin were registered for reimbursement last month, they were subject to drug price cuts.

 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it would cut the prices of Forxiga and Xigduo drugs by 30% from May 1 following the listing of generics.

 

AstraZeneca Korea objected to this and filed an administrative lawsuit and at the same time applied for suspension of execution.

 

As Forxiga and Xigduo also have indications for chronic heart failure and chronic nephropathy that have not expired patents, listing generics with only diabetes indications cannot be the basis for lowering original drug prices.

 

It also argued that if the suspension of execution is not accepted, there is a risk of damage that is difficult to recover.

 

If the court accepts the company's argument, the company can avoid losses of about 27 billion won a year until the prominent lawsuit is decided.

 

In many cases, it takes more than three years from the citation of the suspension of execution to the cancellation of the drug price cut to the Supreme Court, so the company can prevent losses of tens of billions of won.

 

However, it can be a burden that the judiciary's decision on the drug price cut enforcement suspension has been pointed out one after another it is fragmentary.

 

In Korea's drug pricing system, which does not differentiate drug prices according to indications, questions are being raised as to whether the company's claims of inconsistency in price cuts due to inconsistency in drug prices are reasonable.

 

This is because if the Ministry of Health and Welfare wins the prominent lawsuit after citing the suspension of execution, it will not be able to avoid criticism that the court cited the application for suspension of execution too broadly.