新薬の薬価はどう決まる？

抄録

In recent years, the prices of new drugs have become increasingly expensive. With some drugs costing over 100 million yen per person per year, it is understandable that there are concerns about the impact on healthcare economics, leading to hesitation in prescribing such drugs. Many people may wonder why such high prices are set for these drugs. In Japan, drug prices are determined according to certain rules that are established in advance. It is mainly divided into whether there are similar drugs or not. If there are similar drugs, the price is set at a comparable level after comparison, but if there are no similar drugs, the cost calculation method is used, which effectively becomes a black box. However, the design allows for different markup ratios depending on the degree of disclosure. Among these rules, there is a mechanism in place to ensure that drug prices in Japan do not deviate significantly from those in other countries. As a result, when high drug prices are first introduced overseas, they are often followed by similarly high prices in Japan. If Japan were to maintain lower prices, it could lead to drug loss, making careful navigation of this issue essential. It is important for healthcare professionals to understand the drug pricing system and use this knowledge to prescribe medications appropriately.