OBJECTIVES: Pharmaceuticals can be marketed when regulatory approval has been obtained. However other barriers may need to be cleared before patients can gain access to subsidised medicines. In the Asia-Pacific region these subsidised systems are often government programmes and range from national tax funded schemes (Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedule) through to coverage of a specific population (Thailand Social Security Scheme for office workers). Navigating these systems can be as simple as submitting a pricing application or as complex as a full scale societal health technology assessments. The aim of this study is to compare the processes and timings between regulatory approval and subsidised access to medicines across the Asia-Pacific region. METHODS: Reimbursement guidelines from seven different jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific region were reviewed. Differences in processes and time from regulatory approval to subsidised access were captured between Australia, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan and Thailand.   RESULTS: Only Australia and Thailand allows evaluation of reimbursement in parallel with regulatory evaluation. Parallel processing has been discussed in Korea and Taiwan but has not been implemented. The time between regulatory approval and subsidised access differs across jurisdictions. In general additional processes such as health economic evaluation, pricing negotiation, budget approval and administration prolong time to subsidised access well beyond 6 months post regulatory approval. Japan is unique as a reimbursement price should be published within 60 days after regulatory approval. CONCLUSIONS: While most jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific region differ in terms of regulatory and access approval processes all but one of the jurisdictions included in this study require a regulatory approval letter before reimbursement can be sought. Parallel processing can shorten time for patients to access new medicines however other factors such as health economic evaluation, pricing negotiation, budget approval and administration are also important.