Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 May 9:15:1370915.
doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1370915. eCollection 2024.

Variables affecting new drug prices in South Korea's pricing system

Dong Yun Lee  1 , Seong Ha Cho  1 , Da Hye Lee  1 , Su Jeong Kang  1 , Jong Hyuk Lee  1
Affiliations

Variables affecting new drug prices in South Korea's pricing system

Dong Yun Lee et al. Front Pharmacol. .

Abstract

Objective: The price of pharmaceuticals is important from the economic and industrial perspectives but as well as patients' access to treatment. This study aimed to analyze the variables affecting the prices of new drugs in South Korea's pricing system. Methods: Data on 192 new drugs listed in South Korea from 2012 to 2022 were collected from the official website of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. The independent variables included drugs for severe diseases, alternatives, number of patients, number of advanced 7 countries listed, budget impact, and listing period. The dependent variables included annual treatment cost and the price ratio to the advanced 7 country's average adjusted price. Descriptive statistics of variables, linear correlations between quantitative independent and dependent variables, and associations between independent and dependent variables were analyzed. Results: The mean annual treatment cost and price ratio to the advanced 7 country's average adjusted price were higher for drugs for severe diseases and those with no alternatives. Annual treatment cost and price ratio to the advanced 7 country's average adjusted price were negatively correlated with the number of patients and positively correlated with the number of advanced 7 countries listed. Annual treatment cost was affected by the variables drugs for severe diseases, alternatives, number of patients, number of advanced 7 countries listed, and budget impact. The price ratio to the advanced 7 country's average adjusted price was affected by drugs for severe diseases, alternatives, and the number of patients. Conclusion: This study revealed the effect of different variables on the prices of new drugs in South Korea, allowing for the development of a more effective assessment system to evaluate the prices of new drugs while ensuring profitability for pharmaceutical companies, sustainability of public insurance, and accessibility to drugs by patients.

Keywords: budget impact; cost-effectiveness; drug price; health technology assessment; patient accessibility; pricing.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Evaluation scheme for the pricing of new drugs in South Korea. HTA: Health Technology Assessment; HIRA: Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service; PE: Pharmacoeconomic Evaluation; RSA: Risk Sharing Agreement; WAP: Weighted Average Price; NHIS: National Health Insurance Service. A7 (countries): 7 advanced countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Japan).
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Distribution of annual treatment cost and the price ratio to the A7 average adjusted price (A) < 10,000 USD (106 products; 55.2%); >10,000 USD (86 products; 44.8%). (B) Approximately 0%–50% (84 products; 43.8%); approximately 50%–100% (87 products; 45.3%); >100% (1 product; 0.5%). A7 (countries): 7 advanced countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Japan).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Annual treatment cost and the price ratio to the A7 average adjusted price according to categorical independent variables (A) 2.882 ± 0.884 (0.156–4.761) vs. 4.522 ± 0.543 (2.985–5.799); p < 0.001. (B) 4.739 ± 0.475 (3.502–5.799) vs. 3.337 ± 1.036 (0.156–5.566); p < 0.001. (C) 40.3 ± 22.0 (2.6–91.0) vs. 58.9 ± 20.8 (3.8–105.7); p < 0.001. (D) 66.2 ± 16.2 (30.1–105.7) vs. 44.2 ± 22.7 (2.6–93.2); p < 0.001. A7 (countries): 7 advanced countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Japan).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Gandjour A., Schüßler S., Hammerschmidt T., Dintsios C. M. (2020). Predictors of negotiated prices for new drugs in Germany. Eur. J. Health Econ. 21 (7), 1049–1057. 10.1007/s10198-020-01201-z - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. HIRA (2023a) Drug reimbursement and evaluation committee. Available at: https://www.hira.or.kr/bbsDummy.do?pgmid=HIRAA030014040000 (Accessed July 3, 2023).
    1. HIRA (2023b) Regulations on evaluation criteria and procedures for eligibility of drugs on reimbursement. Available at: https://www.hira.or.kr/bbsDummy.do?pgmid=HIRAA040055000000 (Accessed July 3, 2023).
    1. HIRA (2023c) Reimbursement history information. Available at: https://www.hira.or.kr/ra/medi/getHistoryList.do?pgmid=HIRAA030035020000 (Accessed July 3, 2023).
    1. Janssen Daalen J. M., den Ambtman A., Van Houdenhoven M., van den Bemt B. J. F. (2021). Determinants of drug prices: a systematic review of comparison studies. BMJ Open 11 (7), e046917. 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046917 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

LinkOut - more resources