Budesonide’s price will be increased by up to 19%

How will this affect prescriptions?

Prices of Pulmican and Pulmicort will be raised from next month… annual prescription amount expected to increase to KRW 1.5 billion

Prescriptions expected to increase further when the supply and demand imbalance is resolved... 4th increase following acetaminophen etc.

The insurance ceiling price for asthma treatments containing ‘budesonide’ will be increased by up to 18.5%.

 

The annual prescription market is expected to increase by more than KRW 1.5 billion.

 

Once the supply and demand imbalance is resolved, the scope of market expansion is expected to increase further.

 

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 27th, the prices of Pulmican and Pulmicort will increase starting December 1.

 

The price of Kuhnil Pharmaceutical's Pulmican will increase by 18.5% from KRW 946 to KRW 1,121.

 

The price of AstraZeneca's Pulmicort will rise 12.5% from KRW 1,000 to KRW 1,125.

 

Pulmican and Pulmicort contain budesonide and are used to treat bronchial asthma and acute laryngotracheobronchitis in infants and children.

 

As supply shortages have frequently occurred due to a recent surge in demand, a decision was made to increase drug prices after discussing with health authorities and pharmaceutical companies to encourage increased production.

 

Prescriptions for Pulmican and Pulmicort both surged with the COVID-19 endemic.

 

According to the pharmaceutical research institution UBIST, the prescription amount for Pulmicort and Pulmican in Q3 this year was KRW 1.6 billion.

 

The amount decreased by 0.2% from Q3 last year but is 155.8% in 2 years from the KRW 600 million in Q3 2021.

 

In 2020, the prescription market for budesonide was only KRW 3.8 billion.

 

The average quarterly prescription amount was less than KRW 1 billion.

 

In 2021, prescription performance was less than KRW 1 billion from Q1 to Q3.

 

Budesonide prescriptions increased 39.0% YoY to KRW 1.4 billion in Q4 2021, then soared to KRW 3 billion in Q4 last year.

 

This year, sales of budesonide continued to increase, recording KRW 2.5 billion and KRW 2.8 billion in Q1 and Q2, respectively.

 

The cumulative prescription amount for budesonide in Q3 this year was KRW 6.9 billion, approximately 3 times higher than the KRW 2.3 billion it had raised during the same period in 2021.

 

The prescription market for budesonide increased significantly with the surge in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases since the end of 2021.

 

Recently, the demand for asthma drugs has increased due to the increase in not only confirmed cases of COVID-19 but also cold and flu patients, resulting in a supply-demand imbalance where supply cannot meet demand Prescriptions for Pulmican and Pulmicort both surged from the end of 2021.

 

Pulmicort’s quarterly prescriptions from 2020 to Q3 2021 ranged around KRW 300 million to 500 million.

 

It jumped 36.6% YoY to KRW 800 million in Q4 2021 and exceeded KRW 1 billion in Q4 last year.

 

The cumulative prescription amount for Pulmicort in Q3 this year was KRW 3.4 billion, up 194.7% from the cumulative KRW 1.2 billion in Q3 2021.

 

Pulmican’s quarterly prescriptions from Q1 2020 to Q3 last year fell below KRW 1 billion.

 

However, sales surged to KRW 1.8 billion in Q4 last year, and recorded KRW 1.5 billion and KRW 1.4 billion in Q1 and Q2 this year, respectively.

 

The cumulative prescription amount of Pulmican in Q3 this year was KRW 3.4 billion, a threefold increase from 2 years ago.

 

The price hike for Pulmicort and Pulmican is expected to expand the prescription market for budesonide.

 

However, since the market size is not large, its financial burden on Korea’s health insurance is expected to be minimal.

 

Pulmican recorded prescriptions worth KRW 4.7 billion from Q4 last year to Q3 this year.

 

If a drug price increase rate of 18.5% is applied, the annual prescription volume will increase by about KRW 900 million.

 

Pulmicort has recorded prescriptions worth KRW 5.3 billion in the past year, and if its drug price increases by 12.5%, the annual increase is expected to be about KRW 700 million.

 

When the cost structure of Pulmican and Pulmicort is improved and the supply and demand instability is resolved through increased production, the prescription volume is expected to increase further.

 

The price hike of Pulmican and Pulmicort is the fourth drug price increase case.

 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare raised the insurance price ceiling of 18 acetaminophen 650mg items by up to 76.5% in December last year.

 

The insurance price limit for 650mg acetaminophen, which ranged between KRW 43 to 51 before then, was raised to KRW 90.

 

The government made an unprecedented decision to raise the price of all acetaminophen together when pharmaceutical companies expressed reluctance to increase production due to the drug’s poor cost structure.

 

However, it is a temporary increase that will be adjusted to KRW 70 from December this year.

 

The MOHW has also raised the price of magnesium hydroxide-based laxatives since last June.

 

The price of Magmil was raised by 27.8% from KRW 18 to KRW 23.

 

Cho-A Pharmaceutical's Marogel was raised from KRW 15 to KRW 22, and Sinil Pharm’s M Tab Sinil was raised from KRW 16 to KRW 22.

 

In October, the prices of the 4 types of pseudoephedrine single-agent drugs were increased by up to 45%.

 

The insurance price of Sinil Pharm’s Pseudoephedrine Tab Sinil increased by 45% from KRW 20 to KRW 29.

 

The price of Sam Il Pharmaceutical's Sudafed rose 39% from KRW 23 to KRW 32.

 

The insurance drug price of Sama Pharm’s Schdafen and Kolon Pharmaceutical's Cosue was raised by more than 30% from KRW 23 to KRW 30 and KRW 31, respectively.