As Democrats in the U.S. Senate rush to pass prescription drug pricing reforms through the reconciliation process this week, the nonpartisan Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) is offering Japan’s experience with government price controls as a cautionary tale. 

As Democrats in the U.S. Senate rush to pass prescription drug pricing reforms through the reconciliation process this week, the nonpartisan Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) is offering Japan’s experience with government price controls as a cautionary tale. “Stringent drug price controls have significantly hampered the competitive and innovative capacity of Japan’s biopharmaceutical industry in recent decades, serving as a warning for U.S. policymakers considering introducing Medicare Part D drug price controls in 2022,” according to the ITIF.

Japan’s Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd. has stopped development of its adenosine A2a receptor antagonist, KW-6356, in Parkinson’s disease.

Japan’s Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd. has stopped development of its adenosine A2a receptor antagonist, KW-6356, in Parkinson’s disease. Discovered internally by Kyowa Kirin, KW-6356  was studied in phase II trials in Japan for Parkinson’s disease, with results showing it was “potentially effective in relieving motor and non-motor symptoms both as a monotherapy and in combination with levodopa-containing therapy,” Kyowa said. However, development is now being discontinued after conducting an evaluation of the global regulatory landscape, development hurdles and potential timelines for market entry.

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has cleared Japan Tissue Engineering Co. Ltd.’s (J-Tec) autologous cultured cartilage, called Jacc, after a seven-year re-examination period. 

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has cleared Japan Tissue Engineering Co. Ltd.’s (J-Tec) autologous cultured cartilage, called Jacc, after a seven-year re-examination period. Headquartered in Gamagori, in Japan’s Aichi prefecture, J-Tec was the first company in Japan to receive conditional clearance of regenerative medicine therapies under the new regenerative medicine pathway.

Japan is establishing a centralized infectious disease crisis management agency that will be under direct control of the prime minister. One of the goals is to better clarify the chain of command and to bring together resources and COVID-19 task forces from the Cabinet Secretariat and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Japan is establishing a centralized infectious disease crisis management agency that will be under direct control of the prime minister. One of the goals is to better clarify the chain of command and to bring together resources and COVID-19 task forces from the Cabinet Secretariat and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.