Journal of Market Access & Health Policy

Background: Palatability and ease of administration are recognised as key determinants of medication adherence in paediatric populations. Oral ibuprofen suspensions are among the most commonly used analgesic and antipyretic medications for children in Germany, yet parental and parent-perceived child perspectives on these formulation attributes remain underreported for the German market. Methods: A cross-sectional, online market-research survey, commissioned to substantiate potential product communication claims, was conducted among 1005 parents residing in Germany, each of whom had administered a strawberry-flavoured ibuprofen suspension (Nurofen Junior Fever and Pain Suspension Strawberry, Reckitt Benckiser) to at least one child aged 3 months to 12 years within the preceding 12 months. Closed-ended items assessed overall satisfaction, willingness to recommend, parent-perceived child acceptance, perceived ease of administration, and taste satisfaction; all product-specific statements (Q17 and Q18) used a binary agree/do-not-agree format without a neutral option. Results: Overall satisfaction with the product was reported by 99% of respondents (995/1005), and 98% (985/1005) stated they would recommend it to other parents. Agreement rates exceeded 90% for all primary claim statements (Q18): easy and safe to administer (96%), satisfied with how well the child takes the medicine (92%), well accepted by child (92%), satisfied with flavour (92%), good feeling child takes medicine without problems (91%), child finds taste pleasant (90%), child likes the taste (90%), and child takes it without problems (88%). For comparative acceptance statements (Q17), agreement ranged from 83% to 93%. Fever was the primary indication for use (91%), and the product was used a mean of 3.3 times per year. Conclusions: These findings provide consumer-reported, real-world survey data indicating that, among surveyed parents with recent personal experience of using the product, reported satisfaction and perceived child acceptance were high. Because participation required experience with the product within the previous 12 months, while allowing concomitant experience with other paediatric products, and because fever and pain episodes commonly occur more than once over a year in children, the study relied on parent-reported outcomes. The study was designed as a descriptive survey of user experiences and was not intended as a comparative evaluation; accordingly, no comparator was included. The findings should therefore be interpreted as descriptive of this study population and cannot be used to infer comparative performance, improved adherence, or better clinical outcomes; they may, however, help identify taste and ease of administration as candidate domains of paediatric acceptability to be examined in future, more rigorously designed studies.

Although patients in Canada at risk of anaphylaxis are recommended to maintain access to two in-date epinephrine auto-injectors (EAIs) at all times, underuse during emergencies remains common. Multiple factors contribute to this gap, but the impact of real-world shelf life has been understudied. This study examines the remaining in-pharmacy shelf life of EAIs in Canada and considers its potential implications for patient burden, renewal frequency, and anaphylaxis preparedness. In this cross-sectional study, 50 licensed Canadian pharmacists from chain, independent, grocery/mass merchandise, and hospital pharmacies completed an online questionnaire and assessed EAI stock. Participating pharmacists verified all EAI stock on site, including batch numbers and expiry dates, and reported patient disposal practices. Of the 50 participating pharmacists, 49 reported 411 EAI devices across 98 batches. The mean in-pharmacy shelf life at dispensing was 12.8 months, with 47.4% of devices having 12 months or less remaining shelf life. Disposal practices varied and expiry was the most cited reason for disposal. Shortened in-pharmacy shelf life may increase renewal frequency, cost, waste, and the risk that patients carry expired devices or no device during anaphylaxis. Longer-shelf-life epinephrine treatment options or improved distribution chain practices may help reduce patient burden and enhance anaphylaxis preparedness in Canada.

Background: In Japan, official prices of pharmaceuticals have been determined by efficacy and safety. In 2019, Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation (CEE) was introduced to adjust these prices according to Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratios (ICERs). Objectives: To analyze the differences in the factors influencing drug price between the initial official drug pricing and subsequent price adjustments based on CEE. Methods: Twenty-three drugs evaluated in Japan between 2019 and May 2025 were descriptively analyzed using public reports on official drug pricing and CEE. Results: Four differences were identified: (1) Official initial drug pricing grants premiums for certain characteristics that are not directly associated with improvements in Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL), whereas such premiums are not considered in CEE. (2) Official drug pricing limits comparators to existing drugs, whereas CEE did not impose such restrictions. (3) Official drug pricing excludes older drugs as comparators to reward innovation, whereas they were not excluded in CEE. (4) CEE requires sufficient data for CE analysis, such as clinical trial or real-world data, for comparators, unlike official drug pricing. Factors (1) and (3) were most frequent. Conclusion: Reducing these differences and maintaining consistent innovation evaluations may enhance price predictability and support sustainable pharmaceutical investments in the Japanese market.