Lucentis biosimilar enters KRW 35B market in Korea

Chong Kun Dang and Samsung Biologics’ product will be released with reimbursement next month... will target overseas markets as well

Samsung Bioepis’s Lucentis biosimilar that was released in the US in June

Competition in the macular degeneration treatments market is expected to intensify with the imminent entry of the first biosimilar of ‘Lucentis’ in the Korean market.

 

Sales of Lucentis alone had been nearly KRW 35 billion in Korea last year.

 

Lucentis biosimilars from Chong Kun Dang and Samsung Bioepis were preannounced to be listed for reimbursement starting next month.

 

According to industry sources on the 20th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare issued an administrative notice announcing the partial amendment to the reimbursement standards of some pharmaceuticals that included the introduction of Lucentis biosimilars.

 

Previously, 2 Lucentis biosimilars were approved in Korea this year.

 

Samsung Bioepis first received approval for its biosimilar under the name ‘Amelivu inj’ in May, followed by Chong Kun Dang’s ‘LucenBS inj’ in October.

 

Both products are expected to be released with reimbursement next month.

 

Like Lucentis, the two biosimilars will be reimbursed for all 4 indications: neovascular wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), macular edema caused by diabetes, macular edema caused by retinal vein occlusion, and choroidal neovascularization secondary to pathologic myopia.

 

Amelivu will be sold by Samil Pharmaceutical, which specializes in ophthalmic treatments.

 

Samsung Bioepis and Samil Pharmaceutical signed a commercialization agreement for Amelivu in June this year.

 

LucenBS is the second biosimilar to be developed by Chong Kun Dang.

 

Its first biosimilar product,’Nesbell,’ which is a biosimilar of the anemia treatment NESP, was approved in November 2018.

 

Considering the considerable size of the domestic market for Lucentis in Korea, Chong Kun Dang is expected to launch a large-scale marketing campaign to take a share of the market.

 

The domestic macular degeneration treatment market is currently shared by two products – Bayer’s ‘Eylea,’ and Novartis’s Lucentis.

 

According to IQVIA, their sales last year were KRW 70.5 billion for Eylea and KRW 35.1 billion for Lucentis.

 

The global macular degeneration treatment market size is around KRW 13 trillion.

 

This is why domestic biosimilar companies are also eyeing the global market.

 

Samsung Bioepis released its Lucentis biosimilar ‘Byooviz’ in June in the US and is planning to also advance into the European market.

 

In the case of Chong Kun Dang, the company is working to advance into Japan and Southeast Asia.

 

Also, Celltrion, Sam Chun Dang Pharm, and Samsung Bioepis are developing Eylea biosimilars.