Evenity and Prolia sales surge...combined sales rise 47%

Prolia’s cumulative Q3 sales 111.5 bil won … Sales growth of 33% YoY

Evenity's sales rise 61% YoY… Amgen dominates osteoporosis treatment market

Amgen’s two osteoporosis treatments, Prolia (denosumab) and Evenity (romosozumab) are repeatedly posting high growth in sales.

 

Together, these two treatments generated over 130 billion won in Q3 sales, dominating the osteoporosis treatment market in Korea.

 

In the first-line, osteoporosis treatment is trending towards sequential Evenity followed by Prolia for high-risk fracture osteoporosis patients.

 

With this approach increasingly becoming the norm, the analysis is that these two treatments are deemed to be making a synergistic effect, leading to improved outcomes.

 

Prolia's Q3 cumulative sales up 33% YoY…over 150 bil won expected by the end of the year According to the market research institution IQVIA, Prolia’s cumulative sales in Q3 were 111.5 billion won, representing an increase of 33% year-over-year (YoY) from the 83.8 billion won last year.

 

Prolia was approved in September 2014 in Korea.

 

It is a biologic for osteoporosis that targets RANKL, an essential protein for the formation, function, and survival of osteoclasts that destroys the bone.

 

Prolia began seeing an upward sales trend after its reimbursement as a second-line treatment in 2017.

 

The sales growth became steeper after Prolia received expanded reimbursement as a first-line treatment in April 2019.

 

Quarterly sales of Prolia

In 2019, Prolia's sales were 47.3 billion won, and this nearly doubled to 92.1 billion won in 2021 over two years.

 

Last year, its annual sales expanded to exceed 100 billion won.

 

If the current sales growth continues, its annual sales are projected to reach close to 150 billion won by the end of the year.

 

The analysis is that both the expansion of reimbursement and enhanced sales efforts contributed to Prolia's growth.

 

Amgen has been co-marketing Prolia with Chong Kun Dang since September 2017.

 

This method of collaboration involves Amgen focusing on general hospitals, while Chong Kun Dang handles the drug's sales and marketing in secondary hospitals and clinics.

 

Evenity's salses rise 61% YoY… accelerated by Prolia’s sales growth Evenity, which was released following Prolia, is showing an even steeper growth.

 

This year, its cumulative sales for Q3 reached 19.7 billion won, an increase of 61% YoY.

 

Evenity is an osteogenic agent with a dual effect of promoting bone formation and inhibiting bone resorption.

 

Amgen's strategy for marketing for Evenity is 'sequential Evenity followed by Prolia' regimen.

 

Evenity is administered monthly for one year for patients with osteoporosis at high risk of fracture to rapidly increase bone density and reduce fracture risk.

 

The patients are then administered Prolia, once every six months, to continue treatment over a longer period.

 

The pharmaceutical industry’s analysis is that this treatment approach is increasingly becoming common in clinical prescription settings.

 

Also, the analysis is that this sequential administration of Evenity followed by Prolia is contributing to the sales growth.

 

Evenity was approved in Korea in June 2019.

 

It was listed for reimbursement in Dec.

 

2020, which led to significant sales starting the following year.

 

The sales from Evenity increased by 42%, from 12.3 billion won in 2021 to 17.4 billion won last year.

 

It is forecasted that the sales will exceed 25 billion won by the end of this year.

 

In fact, two treatments from Amgen have effectively dominated the osteoporosis treatment market in Korea.

 

Combined, these two products recorded sales of 131.2 billion won up to Q3, representing a YoY increase of 37% from the 96 billion won recorded in the last year.

 

Quarterly sales of major OP treatments

With the rapid rise in sales of Amgen's two treatments, the existing bisphosphonate class of osteoporosis treatments generally showed poor performance.

 

Hanmi Pharmaceutical's RaboneD Cap.

 

recorded a 9% decrease in sales, down from 7.3 billion won in Q3 last year to 6.7 billion won in Q3 this year.

 

Meanwhile, sales of Daewoong Pharmaceutical's Daewoong Zoledronic Acid Inj.

 

also fell 20%, from 5.2 billion won to 4.1 billion won.

 

During the same period, Jeil Pharmaceutical's Bonviva and Bonviva Plus recorded a 26% decrease in sales, dropping from 6.4 billion won to 4.7 billion won.

 

Jeil Pharmaceutical has been in charge of the domestic sales of Bonviva and Bonviva Plus since October last year, taking over the rights from Handok.

 

Bonviva Plus is Vitamin D reinforced version of Bonviva.

 

Among the major bisphosphonate class treatments, Eli Lilly's Forsteo Inj.

 

showed an increase in sales.

 

Forsteo Inj.'s cumulative sales in Q3 amounted to 11.6 billion won, showing a growth of 19% YoY.