A system revision in Japan in October will increase out-of-pocket expenses for patients who choose original drugs with expired patents over their generic counterparts. The revision is aimed at reducing the country’s overall medical costs by promoting the use of generic drugs, which have the same efficacy as the original drugs but are cheaper. Moisturizing ointments and patches are among the 1,095 items to be affected by the revision.
More than 60 percent of Japan’s 47 prefectures said they had not established plans to work with neighboring prefectures for dialysis patients in the event of a large-scale disaster, a recent survey by Kyodo News found.
Fujitsu Ltd. said Monday that it will begin a service for automatically creating clinical trial documents as part of efforts to accelerate digitalization in the area.
Nara Medical University will begin a clinical trial in spring 2025 of artificial red blood cells made from donated blood past its shelf life that is usually discarded.
The move comes as the number of organs provided from brain-dead donors increases. It also follows a recent survey that found medical institutions had declined 16 heart donations from such donors in 2023 due to a shortage of manpower and hospital beds. The number of medical facilities capable of performing heart transplants will increase to 14 nationwide after the hospitals at three national universities — Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Okayama University and Ehime University — are approved to perform such operations.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday conducted an on-site inspection of medical equipment maker Sysmex Corp. in the western Japan city of Kobe on suspicion of illegal tie-in sales of hemostasis analyzers and test reagents. The company allegedly urged hospitals and other customers to use only its test reagents whey they purchased its hemostasis analyzers, while suggesting that it would not sell the products if the customers refused to use the reagents.
Tohoku University researchers have identified a potential trigger for epileptic seizures, or bursts of brain cell hyperactivity, linked to the activity of glial cells that support neurons in the brain.
The findings suggest that new epilepsy treatments could be developed if it becomes possible to control glial cells. The research was published in an international journal last month.
Kyoto University Hospital in western Japan said Monday that it has performed the world’s first simultaneous lung and liver transplant from living donors.
In the operation on Nov. 15 last year, a boy under the age of 10 with a genetic disorder received part of his parents’ lungs and part of his grandfather’s liver.
A Japanese government advisory panel Wednesday proposed hikes in hospital visit fees paid by outpatients for their initial and follow-up medical examinations, in order to increase salaries of health care workers.
For the year starting in April, Japan will revise fees for the three care-related services covered by public insurance–the medical and elderly care services and the welfare service for people with disabilities–together for the first time in six years.
Japanese biotechnology startup PorMedTec Co. said Tuesday it has successfully created pigs for organ transplant into humans for the first time in Japan.
The Meiji University-driven firm used cells of pigs developed for xenotransplantation by U.S. startup eGenesis it imported in September last year. To suppress immune responses, the cell’s 10 genes were re-engineered.
Three genetically modified clone pigs were born on Sunday, PorMedTec said.
Barrier Free Japan