The revised Health Insurance Act enacted in 2026 introduced additional charges for OTC-equivalent drugs, covering 77 ingredients and 1,042 products. The system will begin in March 2027, and investment interest is expected to increase in stocks related to self-medication.
The revision created a new system under which patients bear an additional one-quarter of the drug costs for OTC medicines and OTC-equivalent drugs. The eligible products are the 77 ingredients and 1,042 products used for conditions including rhinitis, stomach pain and heartburn, constipation, fever and pain, and cold symptoms. They include Loxonin, Allegra, Mucodyne, Magmitt, and Hirudoid. The government expects the revised system to reduce medical costs by approximately ¥90 billion.
The four groups expected to benefit from the system are drugstores handling OTC products, pharmaceutical manufacturers producing OTC products, wholesalers supplying stores, and pharmacy IT providers supporting compliance with the system. This article examines the points of contact, performance, and risks of 20 companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Examples cited include Sugi Holdings and Tsuruha Holdings. Sugi HD operates a network of stores with co-located pharmacies, achieved sales of more than ¥1 trillion in fiscal 2026, and generates approximately 30% of total sales from dispensing. Tsuruha HD became one of Japan's largest drugstore groups after making Welcia HD a wholly owned subsidiary, and expects growth from integration benefits and stronger private-label products.
Going forward, key areas of focus will include market reactions after the system begins, the integration benefits at each company, trends in pharmacy IT investment, and changes in the weighting of dispensing operations. The medium-term plan anticipates integration benefits on the scale of several tens of billions of yen and sets an operating profit target for the fiscal year ending February 2029.