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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Drugs Outcomes Research and Policies
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1519491

Analysis of Drug Pricing Drivers under South Korea's Pharmaco-Economic Evaluation Exemption Policy (2015-2022)

Provisionally accepted
Jong Hyuk Lee Jong Hyuk Lee 1*Seunga-Rae Yu Seunga-Rae Yu 2
  • 1 College of Pharmacy, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
  • 2 College of Pharmacy, Dong-Duk Women's University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: This study analysed the characteristics of new drugs listed under the pharmaco-economic evaluation exemption (PEE) system from 2015 to 2022 in South Korea and examined the factors influencing the pricing decisions under this system.A mixed-methods statistical approach was used to comprehensively evaluate the factors influencing drug pricing under PEE system. Descriptive statistics provide an overview of the dataset, while inferential statistics, including t-tests and Pearson's correlation analyses, are used to explore variable associations. Multiple and hierarchical regression models identify and quantify the key determinants of drug prices, controlling for multicollinearity among the variables.Results: From 2015 to 2022, 30 new drugs were listed under the PEE system. The average annual number of new drugs was four, but this figure significantly increased to eight in 2022. The 'KOR/A7 lowest' variable exhibited a strong negative correlation with the budget impact variable (coefficient: -0.838, P < 0.001), indicating that drugs with higher budget impact tend to have lower prices compared to the A7 countrie's lowest price.Since the introduction of the PEE system in South Korea, patient access to new drugs has significantly improved. However, the rising expenditure on pharmaceuticals has made budget impact a significant consideration in pricing decisions, highlighting the need for ongoing monitoring of drug expenditure by payers. As the system evolves, enhanced oversight and policy adjustments will be crucial for balancing cost containment with equitable patient access. Developing tiered RSA models based on drug classification or therapeutic impact could be a viable approach to achieving this balance.

    Keywords: Pricing, Health Technology Assessment, Drug price, budget impact, Cost-Effectiveness, Patient accessibility

    Received: 30 Oct 2024; Accepted: 19 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Lee and Yu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jong Hyuk Lee, College of Pharmacy, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.