Overview of the Japanese Rapid Introduction Premium as a drug pricing framework to enhance patient access to innovative drugs

The pricing of new drugs plays a critical role in patient access by influencing where and when pharmaceutical companies choose to launch their products. The United States (US) operates a predominantly market-based pricing system, in which pharmaceutical companies set and manage drug prices under private health insurance. In contrast, Japan has a government-regulated drug pricing system under its National Health Insurance (NHI). On average, drug prices in the US are 3.2 times higher than those in Japan. The US system facilitates faster patient access to new drugs through rapid market entry, whereas market entry in Japan has often been delayed. To address this issue, the Japanese government introduced the Rapid Introduction Premium in April 2024, aiming to promote earlier launches of new drugs by narrowing the price gap with higher-priced markets such as the US. In this review, we provide an overview of the new drug pricing framework associated with the Rapid Introduction Premium.