Torisel, Orencia and Forteo price-listed and set for launch in Japan
This article was originally published in Scrip
Several important new therapies have received a reimbursement price in Japan, including Pfizer's kidney cancer drug Torisel (temsirolimus), Bristol-Myers Squibb's Orencia (abatacept) for rheumatoid arthritis and Lilly's Forteo (teriparatide) for osteoporosis.
The listing and inclusion in the national health insurance tariff of these and other products today (17 September) allows commercial launch, with many of the new drugs set to reach the market over the next few weeks. The pricing follows a series of positive recommendations and formal approvals over the past few months (scripintelligence.com, 26 July 2010).
Also included in the listing is another osteoporosis product, Pfizer's selective oestrogen receptor modulator Viviant (bazedoxifene), and UCB's anti-epileptic, E Keppra (levetiracetam). GlaxoSmithKline's Volibris (ambrisentan; licensed from Gilead Sciences) received a price for the orphan indication of pulmonary arterial hypertension following its approval in July (scripintelligence.com, 27 July 2010).
17 September Japanese Reimbursement Price Listing
Product | Company | Formulation | Price (¥) |
Abraxane (paclitaxel) | Taiho (licensed from Abraxis) | 100mg inj | 56,982.00 |
E Keppra (levetiracetam) | UCB/Otsuka | 250mg tab 500mg tab | 141.40 230.80 |
Forteo (teriparatide) | Lilly | 600mcg kit | 51,871.00 |
Micamlo (telmisartan + amlodipine) | B-Ingelheim/Astellas | 40mg + 5mg tab | 143.80 |
Orencia (abatacept) | Bristol-Myers Squibb | 250mg inj | 53,467.00 |
Pasil/Pazucross (pazufloxacin) | Toyama/Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma | 1,000mg/200ml inj kit | 2,750.00 |
Syvisc (Hylan G-F 20) | Genzyme | 16mg/2ml inj | 9,648.00 |
Torisel (temsirolimus) | Pfizer | 25mg/1ml inj | 132,915.00 |
Tramal (tramadol) | Nippon Shinyaku | 25mg cap 50mg cap | 37.70 65.90 |
Viviant (bazedoxifene) | Pfizer | 20mg tab | 132.20 |
Volibris (ambrisentan) | GlaxoSmithKline | 2.5mg tab | 4,910.00 |
Yaz (drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol | Bayer Schering | 1 sheet | 6,900.60 |
Most of the products were priced through a comparison with existing similar therapies, although several - including Forteo - had their reimbursement levels calculated on a cost basis if directly comparable products were not available.
The Central Social Insurance Medical Council (Chuikyo), which advises Japan's ministry of health, labour and welfare on pricing matters, also estimated peak annual sales for the products as part of the listing process. It expects Boehringer Ingelheim/Astellas's combination antihypertensive Micamlo (telmisartan plus amlodipine) to generate sales of up to ¥40 billion ($468.4 million) a year.
Its peak forecasts for other products included ¥19.0 billion for Viviant, ¥18.3 billion for Orencia, ¥14.7 billion for Forteo and ¥3.0 billion for Torisel.