KPDS ‘Gov’t action needed to counter price hike pressure’

“Government action is needed to counter pressure from the Trump administration and multinational drug companies pushing for higher drug prices.”

“Trump administration's executive order to lower drug prices triggers storm of drug price hikes in South Korea and other countries”

“Reexamine the drug pricing system... Need measures to lower drug prices”

The Korean Pharmacists for Democratic Society (President: Kyung-Lim Jeon, KPDS) urged the government to take decisive action against Trump and multinational pharmaceutical companies' pressure to raise drug prices.

 

In a statement released on the 4th, the KPDS stated: “Trump signed an executive order on May 12 demanding a reduction in drug prices within the United States, claiming that ‘the United States accounts for less than 5% of the world's population but generates three-quarters of the global pharmaceutical industry's profits.” This is intended to support U.S.

 

pharmaceutical companies by expanding their access to foreign markets, enabling them to lower drug prices within the United States while increasing profits in other countries.” However, ironically, the U.S.

 

pharmaceutical industry has expressed opposition to President Trump's “most-favored-nation (MFN)” policy for the U.S., citing concerns that its double standard could lead to reduced investment and lower new drug development.

 

The KPDS also pointed out that the U.S.

 

pharmaceutical industry has long opposed policies that view health as a basic social security for citizens and seek to establish a foundation for the health of individuals and society as a whole through a national health insurance system and drug price control policies.

 

Rather, the companies demanded a society where pharmaceutical companies can sell drugs at monopolistic prices that guarantee maximum profits, packaging the anti-market system of patent monopolies as “fair trade.” They have also sought to extend patent periods or operate various monopolistic systems, such as through the new drug product exclusivity system, and have exploited loopholes in the patent system.

 

The KPDS stated, “US President Trump's executive order to lower drug prices acted as a catalyst, turning into a storm of drug price hikes for South Korea and many other countries.

 

The Korean government must recognize this change in the trend and respond proactively.” The KPDS proposed 3 countermeasures.

 

The first is to improve the drug pricing system being promoted by the government to reflect the innovative value of treatments.

 

The currently promoted system is not a system for patients, but rather a capitulation to the demands of multinational pharmaceutical companies to raise drug prices.

 

Efforts to increase bargaining power to counter the rapidly rising prices of new drugs should be prioritized.

 

They also urged the government to seek international cooperation to counter the pharmaceutical companies' unreasonable demands for price hikes.

 

KPDS stated, "The Korean pharmaceutical market accounts for only about 1% of the global market.

 

The Korean government's bargaining power is so weak that multinational pharmaceutical companies can easily abandon the Korean market if they so desire.

 

Recently, Europe has been countering the high prices of new drugs by forming alliances with neighboring countries to negotiate drug prices with companies.

 

Korea must also build alliances with neighboring countries in various ways to strengthen its bargaining power with multinational pharmaceutical companies in drug price negotiations." In addition, they proposed the need to establish policies that would substantially reduce drug costs.

 

The fundamental reason for the high price of drugs in the United States is that the government has excessively overestimated the value of drugs under the pretext of fostering domestic pharmaceutical companies and has made no effort to control drug prices.

 

KPDS added, “The reason why rebates by Korean pharmaceutical companies continue is that the drug pricing policies that are lenient to domestic companies provide incentives for companies to sell drugs even if they have to pay extra to doctors.

 

Amid rapid aging, South Korea's drug pricing policy needs to be readjusted, and it is urgent to establish new policies to resolve drug pricing issues, such as the 2006 ‘Drug Price Rationalization Plan.’” "From the perspective of reasonable corporate profits, drug prices in South Korea are not low.

 

There is a growing trend of high-priced new drugs receiving economic evaluation waivers during review, and generic drug prices are among the highest in the world.

 

From the U.S.

 

perspective, demanding that all countries pay high drug prices on the grounds that South Korea's drug prices are low is not justifiable.

 

Instead, the U.S.

 

should review and reform its overly protective pharmaceutical patent monopoly system.