Price of desvenlafaxine IMDs to be discounted up to 10%

After investigation into their actual transaction price

Listed at 90% of the original drug at the time of listing in June 2020…falls greatly in less than 2 years

“Higher drug price was compensation for developing ingredients that can avoid patents”

Pic of the anti-depressant ‘desvenlafaxine’

The price of the follow-on drugs of the anti-depressant ‘desvenlafaxine’ that had been listed at 90% of the price of its original by avoiding the original’s patent through salt alterations have fallen greatly after a year and a half due to the adjustment of the price cap that was conducted following an investigation into their actual transaction price.

 

In other words, the companies’ efforts to develop formulations to receive a higher drug price were all in vain.

 

Four companies including Hanlim Pharm, Myung-In Pharm, Nexpharm, and Whan In Pharm had first received approvals for their incrementally modified desvenlafaxine drugs on April 7th, 2020.

 

The four drugs were all listed for reimbursement on June 1st, 2020.

 

The original desvenlafaxine product is Pfizer Korea’s ‘Pristiq ER (desvenlafaxine succinate monohydrate).’ The patent for Pristiq ER will expire on October 7th this year, but the 4 companies had developed a salt-modified version that differs from the original and succeeded in avoiding the original’s patent.

 

This allowed the companies to release their products before the patient's expiry term.

 

In addition, the companies received a price that was set at 90% of the original based on the formula for calculating the drug price of a salt-modified drug before the expiration of the original’s patent.

 

Based on June 1st, 2020, Pfizer’s Pristiq ER 100mg was priced at ₩1,257, while other salt-modified products were set at ₩1,129.

 

The price difference between the two is only ₩128.

 

However, due to the aftermath of the investigation into the drugs’ actual transaction price and the price cap adjustments that followed, the price gap had increased by 10% to 20% at the most.

 

Myung-In’s Esven SR that was priced at ₩1,129 per 100mg fell to ₩1,016, Hanlim’s Prinexor ER to ₩1,050, and Whan In’s Defaxine SR to ₩1,016.

 

Nexpharm Korea’s Desvela was the only drug that was able to maintain its original price of ₩1,129.

 

Myung-In, Hanlim, and Whan In’s drug prices fell 7.0%, 10.0%, 10.0% respectively after the price cap adjustments that were applied following an investigation into their actual transaction price.

 

The actual transaction price of Pfizer Korea’s Pristiq ER 100mg had also been adjusted following investigations, but its price drop was a mere 0.3% and was set ₩4 lower at ₩1,250.

 

In other words, the price of salt-modified drugs has fallen 7-10% in just a year and a half.

 

As their higher drug price was set as compensation for developing ingredients that can avoid the original's patent, the disappointment on the companies’ part is expected to be large.

 

On the other hand, the question of why the drug prices were set at a higher level than the actual transaction price in the first place may also arise.