Added Therapeutic Benefits of Top-Selling Drugs in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Health Technology Assessment.

ABSTRACT: It is unclear whether Japanese top-selling drugs have meaningful added therapeutic benefits to justify their high sales. This question is relevant as Japan's healthcare costs are rising consistently, particularly due to increasing drug prices. This cross-sectional study evaluated the added therapeutic benefits of Japan's top-selling drugs in 2021 using ratings from established health technology assessment (HTA) agencies in Canada, France, and Germany. Drug characteristics and benefit ratings were obtained from public databases and HTA agencies, following the established method. Overall, added therapeutic benefit ratings were categorized as binary (high or low). Of 51 identified top-selling drugs in Japan, 43 (86%) had at least one rating from three agencies. Notably, 20 (47%) received low

SUBMITTER: Hakariya H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12105913 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature