Xtandi price to be cut following generic entry

Prices of three pelubiprofen analgesics also reduced

Five essential single-source drugs with no alternatives to see price increases…some increasing by over twofold

Reimbursement prices for eight products, including the prostate cancer treatment Xtandi and three pelubiprofen-containing analgesics, will be reduced next month.

Xtandi's price will be lowered starting August 1 following the listing of generic versions in late June. Xtandi’s 70% price premium will remain in effect through June next year.

However, because Xtandi is covered under Korea's Flexible Pricing Agreement system, its listed reimbursement price will remain unchanged. Healthcare providers are therefore advised to carefully verify the actual reimbursed price using the official drug price information provided to medical institutions.

According to industry sources on July 27, reimbursement prices for Astella’s Xtandi Soft Cap 40 mg (enzalutamide), Xtandi Tab 40 mg, and Xtandi Tab 80 mg will be reduced next month.

Among the drugs subject to price cuts next month, the actual price of Xtandi should be verified because it is covered by a flexible pricing agreement. AI-generated image.

A 70% price premium was applied to the original Xtandi, with generic versions from Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Alvogen Korea, and other manufacturers listed for reimbursement on June 28 following the original drug’s patent expiry. The premium will remain in place until June 28 next year.

Because the listed price differs from the actual reimbursed price, healthcare providers should refer to the official reimbursement price information available to authorized users when confirming the reduced price.

Prices for three pelubiprofen products– the generic versions Yungjin Pharm's Pelps Tab, Huons' Pelroen Tab, and the salt-modified version Daewon Pharmaceutical's Pelubi S Tab (pelubiprofen tromethamine)- will also be adjusted to KRW 96. The reductions follow the Supreme Court's dismissal of a lawsuit seeking to suspend reimbursement price cuts, after which the original Pelubi Tab was subject to an administrative price reduction in May.

DKSH Korea's Romiplate Inj 250 μg (romiplostim) for thrombocytopenia will be voluntarily reduced from KRW 376,881 to KRW 363,313, while the price of JW Pharmaceutical's Rabekhan Tab 10 mg (rabeprazole sodium) for gastroesophageal reflux disease will be reduced from KRW 517 to KRW 514.

Meanwhile, reimbursement prices for several products will increase by more than twofold. Following review by the Drug Reimbursement Evaluation Committee, price increases have been approved for single-source medicines deemed essential for patient care that have no therapeutic alternatives or are supplied at relatively low prices.

The price of the corneal preservation solution Zenith Pharm's Optisol GS will increase from KRW 152,119 to KRW 330,000. Several products from the Korea Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences will also receive price increases, including KIRAMS Thallium Chloride (Tl-201) Inj (KRW 30,600 → KRW 34,100), KIRAMS Sodium Iodide (I-123) Solution (KRW 17,000 → KRW 19,100), KIRAMS Sodium Iodide (I-123) Injection (KRW 19,920 → KRW 27,100), KIRAMS Meta-Iodobenzylguanidine I-123 Injection (KRW 48,500 → KRW 49,100).