SEOUL'S RISKY DRUG PRICING RESET

Drug pricing has once again moved to the centre of policy debate in South Korea, with the government recently stepping back from its proposed generic drug pricing reform.

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The reform was scheduled for discussion at last month's meeting of the Health Insurance Policy Deliberation Committee. However, the government withdrew the proposal from the agenda, effectively delaying a decision on one of the most consequential pharmaceutical policy changes in recent years.

The immediate trigger for the postponement appears to be strong opposition from the pharmaceutical industry. At the core of the dispute is the proposed reduction in generic drug prices through a phased revision of the long-standing “2012 half-price rule.” The government had proposed lowering generic prices from the current 53.55 per cent of originator drug prices to the 40 per cent range. The rationale seems to be to address persistent criticism that generic medicines in South Korea remain relatively expensive compared with global benchmarks.