A New Look at the Value of Pharmaceuticals from the Patient's Perspective Toward a Virtuous Circle of Drug Discovery, Drug Development and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients
Koji Tamura (Senior Researcher, Pharmaceutical and Industrial Policy Research Institute)
(No.75: Published in June 2020)
In the Research Paper No. 73 "A New Look at the Value of Pharmaceuticals" published by the National Institute of Pharmaceutical and Industrial Policy (NIPI) in May 2019, the author discusses the "value chain" of pharmaceuticals, which consists of three stages: "creating value (drug discovery)," "cultivating value (drug cultivation)," and "delivering/utilizing value (active drug delivery). The "active drug" = the value of the created drug is maximized by delivering it appropriately and ensuring that it is used appropriately to properly demonstrate its efficacy and effectiveness (see figure below).
For this "active drug delivery," it is necessary for pharmaceutical companies and other providers to appropriately deliver to patients the "product (drug)" that is effective and useful for them plus the "(necessary) information," and for users (patients plus caregivers and healthcare professionals as the case may be) to follow the appropriate usage of the product. The user (the patient plus caregivers and healthcare professionals as the case may be) needs to follow the proper usage. As the importance of "personalized medicine" and "appropriate medicine" increases due to technological advances in medical treatment and diagnosis and the evolution of drug treatment methods (in a broad sense) using new modalities, etc., pharmaceutical companies need to further promote activities for the correct "active use" of drugs. This paper will discuss the importance of "active pharmaceutical use" in the pharmaceutical industry.
In this report, we will discuss the ideal form of "Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients" as well as issues and solutions to realize this concept, particularly in light of the "information asymmetry" on the part of patients and the public in the medical and pharmaceutical fields, and will try to present each chapter from the perspective of patients and the public.
