On paper, things should be looking up for Japan’s pharmaceutical wholesalers. Industry expectations are mounting that the average gap between NHI and market prices will narrow further in FY2026 from the previous year’s record low of 4.8%.A shrinking gap should…
REGULATORY
Healthcare Experts at Odds over Nonprescription Switches of 3 PPIs
Healthcare professionals were divided over whether to allow prescription-to-nonprescription switches for three proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) omeprazole, lansoprazole, and rabeprazole at a health ministry panel meeting on March 16. Under a new “switch OTC” scheme put in place in 2016,…
To read the full story
Related Article
- Vonoprazan Gets Panel Backing for Rx-to-OTC Switch
August 25, 2025
- All Three PPI Switch OTCs Approved following MHLW Panel OK
July 14, 2025
- Pariet’s Nonprescription Versions Approved 6 Years after Discussions Start
March 25, 2025
- Health Ministry Panel Endorses RX-to-OTC Switches of 3 PPIs
December 23, 2024
- Japan Panel Backs Rx-to-OTC Switch of 4 PPIs
July 30, 2024
- Japan Resumes Debate on Rx-to-OTC Switch of PPIs after Over 5 Years
March 22, 2024
- Council Holds Off Nonprescription Switches of PPIs Despite Public Support
December 10, 2018
- MHLW Panel Rebuffs Nonprescription Switches of 3 PPIs
August 3, 2018
- MHLW Announces 16 APIs as Candidates for Switch-OTC Status: None for Lifestyle Diseases
December 13, 2016
- New Scheme on Switch OTC Gets Underway
April 14, 2016
REGULATORY
- PMDA Sees Little Need for Separate Dosage Form Category for Mini-Tablets
November 11, 2026
- Japan Eyes Nationwide Probe into Wartime Drug Trials on Leprosy Patients
November 11, 2026
- Kyowa Kirin’s Libmeldy Gene Therapy Now in Line for Japan Approval
November 10, 2026
- Astellas Employee Jailed for Espionage in China Set for December Release
November 10, 2026
- Nearly 1,200 COVID Vaccine Injury Relief Claims Still Await Review in Japan
November 10, 2026
Tariffs have been a defining feature of US trade policy under President Donald Trump’s second administration. Since Trump unveiled his “reciprocal” tariff policy in April 2025, the landscape has shifted repeatedly.In February 2026, the US Supreme Court invalidated tariffs imposed…
As Japan’s budget season draws near, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) has renewed its push for a full-scale “off-year” drug…
Japan will trim the NHI price of Eli Lilly Japan’s Alzheimer’s treatment Kisunla (donanemab) by 3.93% under the cost-effectiveness assessment…
Japan is set to add 16 new drugs to its NHI reimbursement price list on November 13, including a subcutaneous…
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) on March 5 unveiled the revised NHI prices for drugs subject to…
Japan’s Central Social Insurance Medical Council (Chuikyo) on November 5 approved the reimbursement listing for a slate of new medicines,…
The Japanese government approved a bill to amend the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices (PMD) Act at its Cabinet meeting on…
Japan’s health ministry doled out regulatory approvals for a throng of new medicines on December 27 including Eli Lilly’s obesity…
Japan’s all-important reimbursement policy panel on December 20 approved an outline of drug pricing reforms for FY2024, which enshrines a…