Research Results from Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences Update Knowledge of Health Economics (Overview of the Japanese Rapid Introduction Premium as a drug pricing framework to enhance patient access to innovative drugs): Economics – Health Economics

2025 DEC 05 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Economics - Health Economics is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating from Osaka, Japan, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “The pricing of new drugs plays a critical role in patient access by influencing where and when pharmaceutical companies choose to launch their products. The United States (US) operates a predominantly market-based pricing system, in which pharmaceutical companies set and manage drug prices under private health insurance.”

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, “In contrast, Japan has a government-regulated drug pricing system under its National Health Insurance (NHI). On average, drug prices in the US are 3.2 times higher than those in Japan. The US system facilitates faster patient access to new drugs through rapid market entry, whereas market entry in Japan has often been delayed. To address this issue, the Japanese government introduced the Rapid Introduction Premium in April 2024, aiming to promote earlier launches of new drugs by narrowing the price gap with higher-priced markets such as the US.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “In this review, we provide an overview of the new drug pricing framework associated with the Rapid Introduction Premium.”

For more information on this research see: Overview of the Japanese Rapid Introduction Premium as a drug pricing framework to enhance patient access to innovative drugs. Health Economics Review, 2025. Health Economics Review can be contacted at: Bmc, Campus, 4 Crinan St, London N1 9XW, England. (Springer - www.springer.com; Health Economics Review - http://www.springerlink.com/content/2191-1991/)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Kento Takamura, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Osaka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan. Additional authors for this research include Gai Jinnai, Yuki Niwa and Masuo Kondoh.

Publisher contact information for the journal Health Economics Review is: Bmc, Campus, 4 Crinan St, London N1 9XW, England.

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