New agency to speed up drug review process in Taiwan

TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's Ministry of Health and Welfare is establishing the Center for Health Policy and Technology Assessment (CHPTA) with a nearly NT＄200 million investment from the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA), according to reports on Thursday (Dec. 28).

Health Minister Hsueh Jui-yuan announced that the CHPTA will conduct parallel reviews of new drugs, starting on New Year's Day. This move aims to expedite the review process for newly insured drugs.

Under the new system, the time required for reviewing newly insured drugs will be reduced from 13 months to 6 months on average. Hsueh emphasized that national health insurance stabilizes Taiwanese society and ruled out the possibility of a "third generation health insurance."

He argued that drug pricing policies under the health insurance system require reform, and the launch of CHPTA is a significant step in that direction.