Japan finalizes drug price reductions

Japanese regulatory authorities finalized price cuts for select drugs under a new rule that applies scaled reductions to high-revenue products including Harvoni ledipasvir/ sofosbuvir and Sovaldi sofosbuvir from Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD). Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association Director of International Affairs Takeshi Shigihara told BioCentury the HCV therapies each will be discounted by 31.7% under the new policy.

Shigihara said antiplatelet drug Plavix clopidogrel from Sanofi (Euronext:SAN; NYSE:SNY) will be discounted by 28.8%, and cancer therapy Avastin bevacizumab from Roche (SIX:ROG; OTCQX:RHHBY) by 10.9%. ...