REGULATORY
    Chuikyo Backs Draft FY2026 Pricing Reform Outline, Rejects Key Industry Requests
    By Takashi Ebisawa December 15, 2025
    The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) on December 12 presented a draft outline of the FY2026 drug pricing reform to the drug pricing subcommittee of the Central Social Insurance Medical Council (Chuikyo), winning…

    LATEST

    RaQualia Expands Alliance with HK inno.N, Licenses Japan Rights to Reflux Therapy
    December 15, 2025
    RaQualia Pharma said on December 12 that its board has approved an expansion of its capital and business alliance with South Korea’s HK inno.N, including a plan to license the Japanese rights to its gastric acid reducer tegoprazan.Under the deal,…
    Obesity Market Projected at 46.6 Billion Yen by 2040 as GLP-1s Fuel Growth: Fuji Keizai
    December 15, 2025
    Japan’s obesity drug market is projected to reach 46.6 billion yen in 2040, up from 700 million yen in 2024, driven by growth in GLP-1-based therapies, Fuji Keizai said in a report released on December…
    Roche Diagnostics Taps Ex-Medtronic Japan VP Maeda as New CEO
    December 15, 2025
    The Japan arm of Roche Diagnostics said on December 12 that Kei Maeda, formerly vice president of Cranial and Spinal Technologies at Medtronic Japan, will become the company’s representative director, president and CEO, effective February…

    Chuikyo Debate on FY2026 Drug Pricing Reform

    Pharma Renews Call to Scrap “Spillover,” “Huge-Seller” Rules as FY2026 Talks Enter Final Stretch
    By Ken Yoshino

    Japan’s drug pricing panel held its final round of industry hearings on December 10 as it heads toward the FY2026…

    COMMENTARY

    FY2026 Reform Debate for Drug Pricing Nears the Finish Line, Balance Needed
    By Takashi Ebisawa

    Japan has presented its latest draft policy direction for its FY2026 drug pricing reform. While the package includes a string…

    COLUMN

    AI in HR: Navigating the Ethical Minefield
    By Philip Carrigan

    Let’s be real: even with the best intentions, AI systems can reflect our own unconscious biases. As Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky famously demonstrated in their groundbreaking work on Prospect Theory, humans are prone to cognitive biases that influence our…

    Drug Approval & Reimbursement in 2025

    Chuikyo OKs Listing of Novartis’ Pluvicto, Peak Sales Outlook at 42.1 Billion Yen

    Japan’s Central Social Insurance Medical Council (Chuikyo) on November 5 approved the reimbursement listing for a slate of new medicines,…

    Chuikyo Debate on Off-Year Drug Price Revisions

    MHLW Unveils New List Prices for FY2025 Revision; Stelara, Januvia Hit by PMP Return
    By Ken Yoshino

    The Japanese government on March 7 announced new NHI prices to be applied in the FY2025 drug price revision, revealing…

    Discussions on Next PMD Act Amendment

    Japan Cabinet Approves Bill to Amend PMD Act

    The Japanese government approved a bill to amend the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices (PMD) Act at its Cabinet meeting on…

    Drug Approval & Reimbursement in 2024

    Japan Approves Zepbound, Qalsody, and Lots More Drugs

    Japan’s health ministry doled out regulatory approvals for a throng of new medicines on December 27 including Eli Lilly’s obesity…

    Chuikyo on FY2024 Reimbursement Reform

    Chuikyo OKs Outline of FY2024 Drug Pricing Reform; No Unprofitability Re-Pricing for 7%-Plus Price Gap

    Japan’s all-important reimbursement policy panel on December 20 approved an outline of drug pricing reforms for FY2024, which enshrines a…

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