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Members of a key reimbursement policy panel on December 6 continued to push for the creation of separate generic price bands for both middle and lower bands under the current three price-band grouping rule as a way to address unreasonable…

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) on November 27 added to the NHI price list Japan’s first biosimilars of Avastin (bevacizumab), Nesp (darbepoetin alfa), and Forteo (teriparatide). The NHI prices of first biosimilars are set at 70% of…

Combined sales of eight major Japanese drug makers grew nearly 26% year on year in April-September, pushed up by the acquisition of Shire by Takeda Pharmaceutical. Even excluding the industry leader, though, seven firms still collectively eked out a slight…

Indian generic maker Lupin is casting off Kyowa Pharmaceutical Industry, which it acquired in 2007. Forking over 57.4 billion yen…

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

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…

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…

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

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

While the digital transformation may only be in its infancy in the pharmaceutical industry, the winds of change are here. It’s only a matter of time until customers and patients demand a higher level of service, experience, and connectivity from…