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. 2015 Mar 31;9:1877–1888. doi: 10.2147/DDDT.S62636

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© 2015 Tanimoto. This work is published by Dove Medical Press Limited, and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License

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Drug pricing system in Japan.

Notes: Pricing of drugs is strictly controlled by the central government under the universal health coverage. After market approval, the price of a drug is reduced every 2 years. When a patent expires in approximately 10 years, generic drugs will appear with a price reduction of around 40% compared to the price of the off-patent branded drug. When the pharmaceutical company conducts new drug development requested by the government, the on-patent branded drug will be made available at a premium to maintain the price in line with the newly introduced policy in 2010.