Reimbursement of new migraine drugs gain momentum

3 products may even receive reimbursement listing within the year

Reyvow passes DREC review following Emgality… Ajovy applies to hold a briefing session for HIRA reviewers

Reyvow·Ajovy eyes what price Emgality will be listed at

New migraine drug Reyvow receives conditional approval from the DREC on the 7th

New migraine drug Reyvow receives conditional approval from the DREC on the 7th

New migraine drugs are competitively pushing to receive reimbursement listing in Korea.

 

Following Lilly’s ‘Emgality (galcanezumab)’ in May, Ildong Pharmamceutical’s ‘'Reyvow (lasmiditan)’ has also passed deliberations by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service’s Drug Reimbursement Evaluation Committee (DREC) on the 7th.

 

With Emgality already in pricing negotiations with the National Health Insurance Service, Il Dong is also working to speed up the listing process for Reyvow.

 

Also, Teva-Handok’s new migraine drug ‘Ajovy’ is being reviewed for reimbursement adequacy.

 

The industry analysis is that all 3 new migraine drugs may be reimbursed within the year.

 

Reyvow passed DREC review in only 2 months after it received approval in May through the approval-assessment linkage system.

 

This is evidence that its importer and seller, Ildong Pharmaceuticals, is making efforts to speed up Reyvow’s reimbursement process.

 

Therefore, if the price level presented by DREC close to the company’s estimate, the two parties may immediately begin pricing negotiations.

 

Reyvow selectively inhibits serotonin 5-HT 1F receptor.

 

Triptan-class drugs, which are most commonly used for migraines also work on serotonin but may constrict the blood vessels and cause cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction, strokes, etc.

 

On the other hand, Reyvow, a selective inhibitor, has the advantage of causing fewer cardiovascular side effects.

 

If a patient has difficulty receiving triptans due to side effects, Reyvow would rise as a viable option.

 

Also, both the triptans and Reyvow come in tablet formulations.

 

The other two, Emgality and Ajovy, are injection-type formulations.

 

Both are humanized monoclonal antibody drugs that bind to the CGRP ligand that plays a key role in inducing migraine symptoms to inhibit its binding to its receptor.

 

Therefore, the drugs are known to cost millions of won per year, much more expensive than the existing drugs.

 

This is why the listing price of Emgality and Ajovy is also the focus of attention.

 

Existing triptan class drugs are listed at 3,000 to 4,000 won per tablet, but the price of Emgality and Ajovy will have to be much higher than triptans as they use a different mechanism of action to improve treatment effect.

 

Their formulation, as injection-type drugs, also differs from triptans.

 

However, like triptans, Reyvow is a tablet formulation that acts on serotonin, therefore the price of the listed triptan class drugs may be used as a reference in Reyvow’s pricing.

 

With Emgality at the forefront of the listing process, Teva and Ildong will first be keenly eyeing what price will be set for Emgality.

 

As Teva has applied to hold a briefing session on Ajovy for HIRA reviewers, its reimbursement is also expected to be deliberated by DREC soon.

 

The Korean migraine treatment market has remained small compared to its patient size.

 

Accoring to UBIST in 2020, annual prescriptions of triptan-class drugs were at a 15.5 billion won range.

 

However, the prevalence rate of migraines in Korea is 6%.

 

According to HIRA's statistics, 550,000 patients received medical treatment for migraines, but around 2 million patients are estimated to have not visited hospitals or clinics for their condition in 2020.

 

Therefore, the release of new drugs in the field is expected to further increase the market size.