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Hanmi’s Rolvedon tops KRW 73 bil in US sales
by Son, Hyung-Min Mar 15, 2024 05:49am
The U.S. sales of Rolvedon (Korean product name: Rolontis), a treatment for neutropenia discovered by Hanmi Pharmaceutical, surpassed KRW 70 billion last year. Assertio plans to conduct additional clinical trials and demonstrate a competitive edge. According to the reports by Assertio on the 13th, Rolvedon generated $11 million in Q4 sales last year, showing a 38% increase from the previous quarter. Rolvedon’s sales last year amounted to $55.6 million (approx. KRW 73 billion). Rolvedon is a novel anti-cancer drug discovered by Hanmi Pharm. In 2012, Hanmi Pharm transported Rolvedon technology to U.S. Spectrum. After Assertio acquired Spectrum in April last year, it secured the licensing of sales and development of Rolvedon and lung cancer therapy poziotinib. Asserito is a pharmaceutical company specializing in developing treatments for the central nervous system and inflammation. It owns indomethacin, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, and simvastatin, an oral film formulation. After the acquisition of Spectrum, Assertio further strengthened its pipelines. Quarterly Rolvedon sales trend (Unit: $1 million). Since its release in the United States in October 2022, Rolvedon has recorded sales of $10 million within three months. After the product launch, 70 distributors purchased Rolvedon. It was then utilized by the top three community oncology networks, accounting for 22% of the clinic market share. It continued to show strong sales up to Q2 last year. Rolvedon generated sales of $15.6 million in Q1 last year, and in Q2, it recorded $21 million (approx. KRW 28 billion), an increase of 34.6% from the previous quarter. Rolvedon’s sales in Q3 last year slowed down since its launch. It recorded $8 million in Q3 last year, a decrease of 62% from the previous quarter. According to Assertio, the demand for Rolvedon after applying the reimbursement system was below expectations. Rolvedon became available on the U.S. public reimbursement list with a permanent reimbursement J-code of 'J1449' starting last April. However, the current reimbursement system is less favorable than when Rolvedon was launched. However, Rolvedon rebounded in Q4 last year, generating $11 million in sales. “Rolvedon’s rebound was made possible by maintaining the principle of Rolvedon pricing and employing an updated commercialization strategy,” Assertio explained. “Rolvedon is expected to generate over $100 million in sales by improving patient accessibility and securing new sales channels,” Assertio stated. They added, “We will continue to conduct a clinical study of same-day administration to implement a differentiated strategy.” Conventional treatments for neutropenia, such as Neulasta, can only be administered 24 hours after cancer therapy, thereby prolonging hospitalization. Assertio plans to gain a competitive edge with its strategy of Rolvedon's same-day administration method. The Phase 1 clinical trials for same-day administration of Rolvedon are being conducted in the United States.