- Policy
- New standard for Adcetris combination has been established
- by Lee, Hye-Kyung Mar 22, 2021 06:17am
- Takeda's antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) and Adcetris (Brentuximab) are now available in combination with chemotherapy during the first-line administration of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin lymphoma. The HIRA announced on the 17th that the revised bill 'Details on the criteria and methods for applying medical care benefits t
- Policy
- AZ vaccine plan can be updated after reviewing EMA's results
- by Lee, Jeong-Hwan Mar 19, 2021 06:28am
- KCDA Commissioner Jeong Eun Kyeong said that after reviewing the results of the analysis of side effects such as blood clots of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine of the EMA, follow-up measures such as discontinuation of vaccination in Korea will be decided. On the 17th, Commissioner Jeong responded to inquiries from the People Power Party
- Policy
- AZ and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to arrive on Mar. 24
- by Kim, Jung-Ju Mar 19, 2021 06:27am
- The detailed arrival schedule for the COVID-19 vaccines to be supplied this month has been finalized. When the vaccines arrive to South Korea, they would be distributed to 22 inoculation centers around the country, where the vaccines would be used to inoculate elderly citizens aged over 75, and elderly care center occupants and workers f
- Policy
- Pfizer vaccine is recommended for seniors 65 and older
- by Lee, Jeong-Hwan Mar 19, 2021 06:27am
- It is suggested that the elderly 65 years of age or older with underlying diseases should be vaccinated with Pfizer vaccine, not AstraZeneca vaccine. Due to the risk of blood clots, some foreign countries, including Europe, have stopped vaccinating AstraZeneca vaccine. The question is whether Korea should also recommend Pfizer vaccination to
- Policy
- Sovaldi's criteria for re-examination are relaxed
- by Lee, Tak-Sun Mar 18, 2021 08:26am
- Re-examination criteria of Sovaldi (Sofosbuvir) and Harvoni (Sofosbuvir-Ledipasvir) by Gilead Science Korea are relaxed. This is because the emergence of new drugs and the continuation of COVID-19 epidemic make it difficult to conduct sufficient usability surveys. Since the recently released hepatitis C treatment can be cured, the number of
- Policy
- Alunbrig coverage granted for first-line lung cancer therapy
- by Lee, Hye-Kyung Mar 17, 2021 06:10am
- The South Korean health authority approved listing Takeda Pharmaceuticals’ Alunbrig (brigatinib) for treating anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as first-line therapy, seven months after the indication expansion. The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) recently published a revised n
- Policy
- PE guideline revised for the first time in 9 years
- by Lee, Hye-Kyung Mar 17, 2021 06:10am
- The pharmacoeconomic evaluation (PE) guideline revised by South Korea’s Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) for the first time in nine years has been in effect from last January. The amended 2021 version of the PE guideline reflects the latest evaluation methodology, and specifies the detailed evaluation criteria based on
- Policy
- Voluntary withdrawal of benefit redemption excluding α-GPC
- by Lee, Hye-Kyung Mar 16, 2021 06:22am
- The redemption of benefits related to the drug-related 'Choline Alfoscerate', a brain function improvement agent, has been extended until April 12th. The NHIS has been negotiating benefits redemption of 230 items from 130 companies including Choline Alfoscerate in accordance with the order of the MOHW on December 14 last year. In addition
- Policy
- Samsung Bioepis' biosimilar for Avastin was first approved
- by Lee, Tak-Sun Mar 16, 2021 06:21am
- Samsung Bioepis was the first in Korea to be licensed for the anticancer drug biosimilar for Avastin (Bevacizumab, Roche Korea). The MFDS licensed Samsung Bioepis' Onbevezy on the 11th. Onbevezy is a biosimilar for Avastin of Roche Korea. Onbevezy is the only approved biosimilar for Avastin in Korea. Like Avastin, Onbevezy is used for
- Policy
- COVID-19 vaccine vaccination rate has exceeded 64%
- by Kim, Jung-Ju Mar 15, 2021 08:24am
- COVID-19 vaccine vaccination rate has exceeded 60%. As the AstraZeneca vaccine is recommended for those over 65 years of age, the quarantine authorities decided to introduce an additional 7 million doses (for 3.5 million people) from the end of May. Joon-wook Kwon, the 2nd vice-president of Central Disease Control Headquarters, explained t
