[Reporter's View] Preferential price for innovative drugs

The time of enactment must be determined

Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Park Min-soo promised the National Assembly that he would make a rule that gives preferential prices to medicines made by innovative pharmaceutical companies over other medicines.

 

This is in the same context as Vice Minister Park Min-soo clearly expressed his will to improve the drug pricing system, which includes specific drug price preferential treatment for innovative new drugs and essential drugs, at a meeting of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's press conference in February.

 

Last month, at the Health and Welfare Committee of the National Assembly, Vice Minister Park asked that the preferential treatment policy for innovative drugs be made clear so that the mandatory drug price preferential legislation proposed by Rep.

 

Seo Jeong-sook of the People’s Power of Innovative pharmaceutical companies should not be passed and the review suspended.

 

To borrow the expression at the time, Vice Minister Park said, "(Within the Pharmaceutical Industry Promotion and Support Special Act), we will materialize the presidential decree and prepare a policy plan to improve the health insurance drug price system.

 

Please keep an eye on it.

 

Legislation of compulsory regulations is burdensome." When inquiries from Rep.

 

Seo Jeong-sook, who proposed a bill to enforce preferential drug pricing in the 21st National Assembly, and Democratic Party lawmaker Nam In-soon, who first proposed a bill for voluntary drug price preferential treatment in the 20th National Assembly, Vice Minister Park stopped the legislation and confirmed the implementation of the policy.

 

am.

 

It is noteworthy that Vice Minister Park's promise to enact lower-level laws is in stark contrast to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's passive attitude in making lower-level laws, citing trade frictions.

 

However, it is regrettable that Vice-Minister Park did not suggest a specific timing for establishing a preferential drug price policy.

 

Even now, it should have set the exact time when the policy will be made and released so that it can be free from criticism that the enactment of the lower statute is very slow.

 

In November 2018, the government promulgated legislation on preferential drug prices, including the addition of the upper limit on drugs manufactured by innovative pharmaceutical companies, after passing the plenary session of the National Assembly.

 

However, even after four years, it is evaluated that the work of enacting sub-laws to support the effectiveness of drug price preferential treatment has not progressed forward.

 

This is the background of Congressman Seo, who sympathized with the long wait and frustration of the pharmaceutical industry and introduced a bill to change the voluntary drug price preferential regulation into a compulsory regulation.

 

The expert committee of the Welfare Committee also supported Congressman Seo's bill with the intention that the legislation was not unreasonable and the necessity and legitimacy were recognized.

 

There was a movement for a sub-decree.

 

In October 2021, the Ministry of Health and Welfare through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute ordered a 'research on drug price support policies for innovative pharmaceutical companies that conform to the international trade order'.

 

However, even in this study, the original plan to announce the research results in May 2022 was not properly followed, and the vacuum in the lower statute has been walking in place so far.

 

This is the reason why Rep.

 

Seo and Rep.

 

Nam did not hide their suspicious suspicions from Vice Minister Park, who revealed his will to legislate the rule of preferential drug pricing without fail.

 

Fortunately, this time, along with the expression of Vice Minister Park's will, the Ministry of Health and Welfare's movement to enact substantive sub-statutes is accompanied by an atmosphere.

 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare, along with NHIS, HIRA, and three pharmaceutical organizations, supervised a public-private consultative body to improve the drug price system.

 

Vice Minister Park said, “Even if the law is changed to a mandatory regulation to prepare a preferential drug price clause, there is no problem when the Ministry of Health and Welfare does not comply with it, so it is ineffective.” It was explained that if the government's will and policy direction were firm, it could create a preferential treatment plan without amending the law.

 

As the Ministry of Health and Welfare has virtually ended the work of collecting opinions from domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies and bio companies, Vice Minister Park believes that he must directly roll up his sleeves and take the lead so that specific drug price preferential regulations can be completely unveiled at least within the first half of this year.

 

If the enactment of sub-statutes is postponed again without a promise in the face of the temporary suspension of the National Assembly legislation, it will be difficult to be free from criticism that the Ministry of Health and Welfare is taking the legislative branch lightly.

 

It is hoped that the enactment of the sub-statute by the Ministry of Health and Welfare will eliminate the need for review by the National Assembly for the enforcement of preferential drug price regulations ahead of the midsummer heat wave that will be approaching this year without fail.

 

In addition, it is hoped that the sub-laws to be enacted will be filled with effective content to quench the thirst of the pharmaceutical industry, which has been waiting for five years and repeatedly complaining.

 

It is important to carefully reflect on the preferential provisions that the industry really wants, not the formal administration of the National Assembly in preparing a plan for preferential drug prices.

 

In order to nurture the biopharmaceutical industry and realize the creation of global blockbuster domestically produced new drugs, it is possible to achieve economic effects as well as realize policy goals by establishing sincere preferential measures by listening to the opinions of the industry.