[Newsmp] Roche Korea's Enspryng, a treatment for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), and GSK's Jemperli, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, will be covered by the South Korean national health insurance system.
The reimbursement ceiling for existing listed products, including Cosentyx (Novartis) with expanded indications for ankylosing spondylitis, along with Taltz (Lilly), Tremfya (Janssen), IL-17A and IL-21 inhibitors, and the JAK inhibitor Xeljanz (Pfizer), will be lowered.
Conversely, the costs of 14 budesonide suspension medications, including Pulmican Suspension for Nebulizer (Kuhnil Pharmaceutical) and Pulmicort Respule (AstraZeneca), are slated for an increase.
On November 23, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said it revised and issued a revision of the ‘Pharmaceutical benefit list and the table of the upper limit of benefits.’
According to the announcement, the reimbursement caps for Enspryng Prefilled Syringe Injection and Jemperli, which will be newly listed next month (December), have been set at KRW 7,723,456 per 1ml/syringe and KRW 3,868,840 per 0.5g vial, respectively.
Fycompa Suspension 0.5mg/mL, an epilepsy medication, will see its price cap decrease by 29.9% next month, followed by a further 23.6% drop on October 14, 2024.
The reimbursement caps for four drugs, including Ilyang Telmisartan Tab. 40mg and 80mg, and Ilyang Telmisartan Plus Tab. 40/12.5mg and 80/12.5mg, manufactured by Il-Yang Pharmaceutical, will be reduced by 19.9 to 20%.
Furthermore, there will be a reduction of 10.0% for Soranib Tab. 200mg (Hanmi Pharmaceutical), a 6.2~6.3% decrease for Bridine T Eye Drops 0.15% 5ml and 0.3ml (Hanlim Pharm), a 3.9% reduction for Codaewon S Syrup (Daewon Pharmaceutical), a 2.5% decrease for Xultophy FlexTouch Injection (Novo Nordisk), and a 1.5% decrease for Paxil CR Tab. 12.5mg (GSK).
Additionally, the cost of Tremfya Prefilled Syringe Injection and Auto Injector will go down by 2.0%, Cosentyx Sensoready Pen and Unoready Pen by 0.6%, Taltz Prefilled Syringe Injection and Auto Injector Injection by 0.5%, and Xeljanz Tab. 5mg by 0.8%.
On the other hand, the maximum reimbursement amount for Dexahigh Tab. 4mg (Daewoong Pharmaceutical) will be increased by 19.0%, Pulmican Suspension for Nebulizer by 18.5%, Boryung Nafcillin Sodium Inj. 1g (Boryung Pharmaceutical) by 13.9%, Pulmicort Respule by 12.5%, and four items, Tachosil 7.5㎠, 45.6㎠, 23.04㎠, and 23.04㎠ (pre-rolled), by 2.1%, and Uromitexan Injection (Bukwang Pharmaceutical) by 1.2%.
Jeil Pharmaceutical's Potassium Chloride Injection Jeil will see an increase of 85.7%, Sodium Chloride Injection Jeil will rise by 60.6%, Dextrose Inj. Jeil will experience a 39.1% increase, and Water for Injection Jeil will be raised by 35.3%. Moreover, the reimbursement ceiling for Furtman Injection (JW Pharmaceutical) will see an increase of 53.8%.
Meanwhile, the reimbursement cap for Relestat eye drops 0.05% (AbbVie) is scheduled to be reduced by 23.5% on September 1, 2024.
