資料來源：https://www.firstwordpharma.com/node/1396566

In Japan, debate is growing over the price of Ono Pharmaceutical's lung cancer drug Opdivo (nivolumab), Nikkei Asian Review reported.

The controversy occurred after a cost estimate was submitted to the Finance Ministry's Fiscal System Council in April.

If the drug's popularity keeps growing, the country's healthcare costs will rise infinitely, the analysis said.

"Realistically speaking, [sales of Opdivo] are estimated to be 126 billion yen in the current fiscal year through March 2017," Ono Pharmaceutical president Gyo Sagara previously noted, adding that the amount is less than one-tenth of the government's estimate.

Of the 730 000 yen a patient pays for 100mg, only 170 000 yen goes into the company's as operating profit, with around 460 000 yen covering the cost of manufacturing, 45 000 yen is appled to distribution costs and the consumption tax accounts for 54 000 yen.

While critics argue that only 20 percent to 30 percent of patients on Opdivo show a positive response, Hiroyoshi Nishikawa, director at the National Cancer Center's division of cancer immunology, said "there are many patients whose cancer cells have not shrunk but have not grown bigger after taking Opdivo.