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    INTERVIEW

    Pharma Industry Watered Down Original Proposals for Pricing Overhaul, Corrections Necessary: Kenporen Director
    By Yoshinori Sagehashi

    As Japan gears up for its next drug pricing reform in April 2020, Shoji Kono, director of the National Federation…

    TRENDS

    Sales per Drug Rep Hits Record High in FY2018 as Downsizing Speeds Up
    By Reiji Anasako

    Pharmaceutical sales per rep in Japan, a yardstick for “productivity” at drug makers, reached a record 172 million yen in FY2018, up 20 million yen from five years ago, as companies continue ramping up their job-shedding drive in a bid…

    COMMENTARY

    After Death in First-in-Human Study, MHLW Needs to Release Info. to Alleviate Concerns about Participation in Studies
    By Takashi Ohama

    An adult man who completed the administration of an investigational drug in a Japan PI study conducted by Eisai has died. Whether there was a causal relationship between the drug and the subject’s death remains unclear at the present time,…

    FY2018 Earnings Roundup

    Japanese Drug Makers Beefing Up China Biz amid Regulatory Tailwind
    By Reiji Anasako

    Riding on the back of an improved regulatory environment in China, major Japanese drug makers are moving to expand their businesses in the world’s second largest pharma market. Companies are pumping up their new drug pipelines, while forging solid sales…

    Upside in Decelerating Gx Arena

    In Authorized Generic Spree, Daiichi Sankyo Espha Focuses More on “Popularization” than “Sales” When It Comes to Cancer AGs
    By Takashi Ebisawa and Tatsuya Otsuka

    Japan’s generic market is hitting a plateau soon. Incentive measures rolled out by the government since 2002 have driven its…

    My Viewpoint on CEA

    Ensuring Patient Access Was MHLW’s Top Priority for CEA Scheme: Policy Planning Director
    By Yoshinori Sagehashi

    Some seven years in the making, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) finally rolled out a cost-effectiveness assessment…

    HTA Debates in 2018-2019

    Japan to Roll Out Cost-Effectiveness Assessment Scheme in April

    Japan will go ahead with the introduction of a cost-effectiveness assessment (CEA) scheme for drugs and medical devices in April…

    COLUMN

    Practice Makes Perfect - Even in Marketing!
    By Philip Carrigan

    Jascha Heifetz, widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time, was once stopped, on 57th Street in Manhattan, by a pedestrian asking, “Could you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?” Heifetz pondered the question for…