Will Celltrion Pharmaceutical voluntarily cut down on Godex?

Voluntary price cuts to single drugs with the same main ingredient

Even if it is lowered to 371 won → 144 won, sales can be recovered according to sales strategy

Celltrion Pharmaceutical's Godex is on the verge of being expelled from insurance registration, and it is expected to cut voluntary drug prices at the level of comparative drugs as the last defense measure to maintain benefits.

 

The reason why Celltrion Pharmaceutical's strategy is drawing attention is that if Godex, which looks like 60 billion won, is deleted, it is inevitable to lose about 20% of its total sales, which is expected to make every effort to maintain insurance drugs through clinical utility proof.

 

Godex was not recognized for the appropriateness of the benefit at the 7th review of the Pharmaceutical Benefit Evaluation Committee held on the 7th, but the final results may change depending on the evaluation of the objection.

 

This re-evaluation project is planned for five years from 2021 to 2025, and it is difficult to overcome obstacles in this way because it contains more than 20 billion won, or less than one country among A8 countries, or drugs pointed out by the committee due to insufficient policy, social needs and usefulness.

 

It is insufficient to judge the HIRA's expression of its willingness to derive reasonable drug prices by comparing clinical usefulness and drug prices in excluded countries with domestic released drugs as simply proof of usefulness.

 

The most effective means is the voluntary reduction of drug prices to the level of a single drug (or Pennel Cap ( 312 won ) with the same main ingredient).

 

Godex capsules contain 25mg of Biphenyl Dimethyl Dicarboxylate, 500μg of Riboflavin, 125μg of Cyanoborate, 2.5mg of Adenine HCl, 25mg of Pyridoxynate, and 150mg of Carnitine Orotate.

 

A comparative drug with the same main ingredient is Pharmaking's Nissel (144 won).

 

Despite the expiration of Godex patents, many pharmaceutical bio companies failed to release generics because they could not successfully derive biological equivalence test data for other auxiliary substances except biphenyl dimethyl Dicharboxylate, the main ingredient.

 

It is true that even though Godex is a composite agent, if the drug price is the same as the single drug Nissel by giving up the drug price value for the rest of the ingredient combination except for the main ingredient, the HIRA lacks the reasonable logic to prevent it.

 

Sales of Godex could be halved due to a benefit cut of 371 won → 144 won, but it can actually prevent it from leaving the market and restore it to its original state according to its sales strategy, which is likely to reduce its weakness.

 

It is logical that Celltrion Pharmaceutical's the HIRA limit is unfair to reduce the benefit of Godex capsules, a composite drug, at a time when insurance registration and benefits continue due to the clear effect of a single product.

 

In addition, under the current regulations, drug prices fall only when generics enter, but there is a logic that it is unreasonable to target them for re-evaluation even though generics has not been released.