Acetaminophen prescriptions at a record high

Benefits from the insurance drug price increase

Outpatient prescriptions of Acetaminophen in Q2 record KRW 14.1 billion... 89% increase in one year

Increase in flu and cold patients... price increase and resolution of the unstable supply issue increased prescriptions

The single-agent antipyretic analgesic ‘acetaminophen’ recorded the largest-ever sales in outpatient prescriptions.

 

The prescription market for acetaminophen has increased significantly due to the unceasing number of confirmed COVID-19 cases arising despite the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in flu and cold patients.

 

The rise in the insurance drug price of acetaminophen the government made to stabilize acetaminophen supply has also contributed to the market expansion.

 

According to the market research institution UBIST, the outpatient prescription market for single-agent acetaminophen drugs in Q2 was KRW 14.1 billion, up 89.2% YoY.

 

The increase in the prescription amount was 5.5% YoY to KRW 11.8 billion in Q1, which grew further in Q2.

 

The acetaminophen market broke its record for 2 consecutive quarters in Q2.

 

In the first half of the year, acetaminophen prescriptions rose to KRW 26 billion, up 38.9 % from the same period last year.

 

The acetaminophen prescription market had fallen to the KRW 4 billion-5 billion range by Q3 2021 after recording KRW 9.2 billion in Q4 2019 and KRW 7.8 billion in Q1 2020.

 

At the time, COVID-19 was considered the direct cause of the contraction of the acetaminophen prescription market.

 

The stricter personal hygiene practices that followed the spread of COVID-19, including washing hands and wearing masks, had greatly reduced cases of infectious diseases such as flu and colds, thus contracting relevant treatment markets.

 

The acetaminophen prescription market rebound to KRW 6.7 billion in Q4 2021 and then soared to KRW 11.2 billion in Q1 last year.

 

At the beginning of last year, the demand for acetaminophen increased significantly with hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 cases being confirmed a day.

 

Then, prescriptions decreased to KRW 7.5 billion and KRW 8.2 billion in the Q2 and Q3 of last year, respectively.

 

However, it made a rebound again to KRW 10.9 billion in the Q4 of last year and continued on its rise this year.

 

The industry analysis is that the acetaminophen prescription market has grown further as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continues to occur by tens of thousands even after the end of the pandemic, and the number of flu or cold patients has also increased after the mandatory mask-wearing regulation was lifted this year.

 

Quarterly outpatient prescriptions of acetaminophen single-agent drugs (Unit: KRW 100 million, Data: UBIST)

The number of flu patients has continued to exceed the epidemic standard from the beginning of this year to June.

 

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the number of suspected influenza patients per 1,000 outpatients dropped from 52.5 in Week 1 of 2023 to 11.7 in March.

 

However, the number of suspected flu cases rose again from April.

 

For 6 consecutive weeks from the 17th week (fourth week of April) to the 22nd week last week of May), the number of suspected influenza patients per 1,000 outpatients continued to be over 20.

 

This greatly exceeds the flu epidemic standard of 4.9 set by the KDCA.

 

The raised insurance drug price of acetaminophen was also pointed out as another factor that contributed to the expansion of its prescription market.

 

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

 

The insurance price limit for 650mg acetaminophen was only KRW 43 to 51 before then but 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.

 

Affected pharmaceutical companies had promised to increase production of acetaminophen in line with the price hike.

 

The upper ceiling price for acetaminophen drugs was determined through negotiations between pharmaceutical companies and the National Health Insurance Service based on manufacturing/import costs and factors that render the price increase necessary, production/import volume, etc.

 

Janssen Korea’s Tylenol 8 Hour received the highest price hike of 76.5%, from KRW 51 to KRW 90.

 

Prices of Bukwang Pharm’s Tacenol 8 Hours and Chong Kun Dang's Penzal were each raised from KRW 51 to KRW 88, a 72.5% hike.

 

Price of Hanmi Pharm’s Suspen 8 Hours increased by 70% from KRW 50 to KRW 85.

 

The price of Kolon Pharmaceutical's Tramol rose 66.7% from KRW 51 to KRW 85, while Genu Pharma’s Anispen 8 Hour and Hana Pharm's Tylicol 8 Hour rose 62.7% each to become KRW 83.

 

The price of Sama Pharm’s Setopen and Yoong Poong Pharmaceutical’s Tifen 8 Hours rose 56.9% each to become KRW 80 from KRW 51.

 

Also, 8 items including Boryung Biopharma’s Cetaphen 8hr were raised to the KRW 70 range.

 

The price increase of acetaminophen resolved the unstable supply issue, and the increase in cold and flu patients has led to an unprecedented boom in the acetaminophen prescription market.