From JPMA New Year's Message for 2021

At the beginning of the year 2021, I would like to extend my best wishes for the New Year.

In 2020, the world was swept by a new type of coronavirus, which infected approximately 70 million people and claimed 1.5 million victims, creating a veritable "pandemic. I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to those who were infected and to the families of those who lost their lives.

The development of vaccines and therapeutics, which are indispensable for the containment of infectious diseases, usually takes around 10 years. Currently, pharmaceutical companies are working hard to develop such vaccines in Japan, but in Europe and the United States, the commercialization of vaccines has started ahead of other countries. These vaccines use new technologies that have never been used before.

In the U.S., which is ahead of other countries, infectious disease countermeasures are considered part of national security policy, and BARDA (the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority) continuously invests funds in research and development of vaccines and medicines by companies around the world as a security policy to protect the country against threats such as bioterrorism and emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. These efforts in peacetime have enabled the early commercialization of vaccines in times of emergency when infectious diseases spread. Unfortunately, Japan does not have such a system. In June 2020, the JPMA recommends that "Japan should regard infectious disease control as a matter of national security, establish a command post function to oversee infectious disease control from peacetime to emergencies, and promote international collaboration. As it is our responsibility as a JPMA, we will continue to accelerate the development of our footprint this year, and at the same time, we will promote efforts as a JPMA to prepare for future epidemics of infectious diseases.

This year, the mid-year NHI price revision will be implemented. The four ministers agreed in 2016 that the mid-year revision should be implemented on a limited basis to complement the main biennial revision, and in 2020, the Framework Policy indicated that "the revision should be carefully addressed, taking into account the impact of the new coronavirus infection. However, the results at the end of 2020 diverged from these agreements and policies and were very severe. In the process leading up to this point, there was a sense that the focus was solely on generating financial resources. NHI drug prices are the source of future R&D investment by companies. I am concerned that if the debate continues without a long-term perspective, Japan's R&D capacity will be dampened and the creation of new drugs will become more difficult.

There are still many patients in Japan suffering from diseases. We must continue to take on the challenge of tackling the many diseases for which there are still no effective treatments. However, we are reaching the limit of evaluating the value of new drugs under the existing rules. We are convinced that the future NHI drug price system must appropriately reflect the various values created by new drugs, and at the same time, it must be a system that is acceptable to the public. This year, based on this concept, we will hold thorough discussions within the JPMA and make every effort to gain the understanding of all concerned parties. I would like to conclude my New Year's greetings by asking for your understanding and support.