- LOGIN
- MemberShip
- 2026-05-08 14:31:39
- Company
- KRPIA presidents will meet with Lee Joon-seok
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Jan 26, 2022 05:57am
- Ahead of the presidential election, KRPIA and multinational pharmaceutical presidents will meet with the leader of the main opposition party. According to the Dailypharm's confirmation, the presidents of the KRPIA will hold a meeting with Lee Joon-seok, CEO of People's Power, tomorrow morning (27th). The meeting will be attended by Oh Dong-wook , CEO of Pfizer Korea, Lee Young-shin, full-time vice chairman of KRPIA, Kim Sang-pyo, CEO of AstraZeneca Korea, and Kevin Peters, CEO of MSD Korea. It has been confirmed that Rep. Seo Jung-sook (pharmacist), a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, and Rep. Lee Jong-sung will be present along with Lee Joon-seok . Through the meeting, the presidents of KRPIA are expected to deliver grievances, policies, and pledges from the perspective of pharmaceutical companies with the agenda of "expanding new drug coverage." Lee JunSuk Meanwhile, at the end of last year, KRPIA presidents agreed on the need to expand access to treatments for rare diseases in relation to the current government's plan to expand health insurance coverage called "Moon Care" and submitted a PE expansion opinion to the government. According to the opinion, many rare diseases do not meet the "serious disease conditions of threatening survival (less than two years of life expectancy)," which are conditions that can utilize the current special system (RSA and PE systems), but have a great impact on families, including direct medical expenses of patients. The association argues that evaluating the clinical need of these diseases only as life expectancy does not take into account the characteristics of rare diseases, and that even if the clinical need does not meet the criteria for less than two years of life expectancy, it should be added to the PE targets.
- Company
- Outpatient prescriptions slow for MNCs...Viatris in the lead
- by Jan 26, 2022 05:57am
- Outpatient prescription sales of multinational pharmaceutical companies in Korea had slowed down in general last year. Viatris held the lead among multinational pharmaceutical companies for two consecutive years, but its amount of prescriptions also decreased 0.3% compared to the previous year. The top prescription drug companies such as MSD (Organon), AstraZeneca, Novartis, Astellas, all saw a decline in sales. According to the market research institution UBIST on the 26th, Viatris Korea held the lead in outprescription sales with ₩463.9 billion among multinational manufacturing companies last year. The total prescription amount of the company had fallen 0.3% compared to the ₩465.4 billion in 2020. Lipitor and Celebrex sold ₩205.2 billion and ₩46.3 billion respectively, increasing 0.7% and 3.6%, but Lyrica and Norvasc’s sales fell 3.6% and 1.7% respectively to record ₩69.9 billion and ₩69 billion, respectively. Viatris is a spin-off of Pfizer that was established in 2020 after merging with Mylan in 2020. At the time of the spin-off, the company received Pfizer’s off-patent drugs. With key products such as ‘Lipitor (dyslipidemia treatment),’ ‘Lyrica (neuropathic pain),’ ‘Norvasc (hypertension),’ the company has maintained the lead in outpatient prescriptions ever since its establishment. The outpatient prescription performance of large multinational pharmaceutical companies had decreased in general. MSD (including Organon) recorded ₩437.5 billion in prescriptions last year, which was a 2.4% decrease from the previous year. For MSD, its off-patent drugs and women’s health products are in the process of being transferred to its spin-off Organon. If the product transfers become complete, over half of MSD’s off-patent drugs will be recorded as Organon’s products. These future Organon products account for approximately 58% of the ₩437.5 billion that was sold last year as MSD’s prescriptions. ‘Atozet,’ one of the key products that will be transferred to Organon, had recorded ₩86.8 billion in sales last year, which is a 4.9% increase from the previous year. On the other hand, MSD’s DPP-4 inhibitor ‘Januvia family (Januvia, Janumet, Janumet XR)’ did not perform so well. Sales of Janumet fell 4.1% to ₩78.7 billion, Januvia fell 5.7% to ₩45.9 billion. Only sales of Janumet XR rose 2% to ₩51.8 billion. AstraZeneca, which recorded the 3rd most in sales, recorded 424.7 billion last year, a 6.4% decrease from the previous year. The sales drop was affected by the drop in sales of its lead product, the cholesterol drug ‘Crestor,’ falling 3.4% (₩90.8 billion). Fortunately, the outpatient prescription sales of its SGLT-2 inhibitor ‘Forxiga’ and combo ‘Xigduo’ had driven the outpatient prescription sales of AstraZeneca. The two products sold ₩42.6 billion and ₩37 billion, an 11.9% and 21.1% increase, respectively. Novartis’s sales performance also slowed down, recording a 0.1% decrease from the previous year to ₩422.5 billion in sales. Products that sold over ₩10 billion in outpatient prescriptions last year fell to 8 from the 11 in 2016. All companies other than Boehringer Ingelheim among the Top 5 grossing companies among multinational pharmaceuticals saw a decline in prescription sales last year. However, companies that sold NOAC, antidiabetic, and eye drops such as Daiichi Sankyo, BMS, Janssen, Lilly, and Santen fared better in the previous year. Daiichi Sankyo recorded ₩181.7 billion in sales, a 7% increase from the previous year, benefitting from the 16% sales increase of the NOAC anticoagulant ‘Lixiana.’ Sales of BMs’s prescription drugs also increased 7.6% to record ₩181.7 billion, with sales of the NOAC ‘Eliquis’ rising 18.6%. Lilly’s sales also increased 16.1% to record ₩104.9 billion, with the even expansion in sales of GLP-1 analog ‘Trulicity’ antidepressant ‘Cymbalta,’ JAK inhibitor ‘Olumiant,’ CDK 4/6 inhibitor ‘Verzenio.’ Also, the ‘no Japan’ boycott that started in 2019 in Korea did not affect sales of Japanese pharmaceutical companies. Other than Astellas, other Japanese pharmaceutical companies saw steady growth since 2019. In particular, outpatient prescriptions of Santen Pharmaceutical rose 42.3% from ₩68.4 billion in 2018 to ₩97.3 billion last year. Sales of Santen Pharmaceutical’s eyedrop ‘Cosopt-S’ that it received the license from MSD arose significantly, and prescriptions of the eye drop ‘Cravit’ and the glaucoma treatment ‘Taflotan-S,’ as well as eye drop ‘Ikervis’ had expanded greatly.
- Company
- SK Bioscience wins 3rd EU-GMP for its vaccine plant
- by Ji Yong Jun Jan 26, 2022 05:57am
- (Picture of Andong L House=SK Bioscience)SK Bioscience, which has signed a CMO deal to manufacture the Novavax vaccine, has additional received EU-GMP certification from the European Medicines Agency. This is the third EU-GMP certification the company received. On the 25th, SK Bioscience announced that it had received additional EU-GMP certification for the manufacturing facility, process, and quality system of Andong L House that is being operated for the manufacture of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine. SK Bioscience has been producing the drug substance of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine under a CMO (contract manufacturing organization) deal. With the approval, SK Bioscience’s L House received the third EU-GMP approval as a vaccine manufacturing facility. One of SK Bioscience’s vaccine manufacturing facilities for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine and one of the three SK Bioscience’s vaccine manufacturing facilities received EU-GMP certification last year. SK Bioscience is also working for EU-GMP certification for its last facility. The company explained that it plans to receive an on-site inspection from the EMA within the first quarter at the earliest. The EU-GMP system evaluates and certifies the entire process of vaccine production, from the purchase of raw materials to manufacturing, quality control, to shipment. It is considered to be the highest level of certification in the world along with the US’s cGMP certification. SK Bioscience passed the on-site investigation and document review of the EMA that took two months since November last year. By receiving EU-GMP certification in 2 of its Novavax COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing facilities, the company will speed up the supply of its Novavax vaccine. Novavax received approval for the use of its COVID-19 vaccine from the EMA, WHO, India, Indonesia, Philippines, France, Australia, among other countries. In Korea, SK Bioscience received marketing approval for Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine ‘Nuvaxovid’ on the 12th, and is preparing a total of 40 million doses of the vaccine. SK Bioscience plans to further expand its CMO business with global vaccine companies based on the vaccine manufacturing and quality control capabilities proven through its EU-GMP certification in the future. L House is equipped with the base technology including ▲cell culture ▲bacterial culture ▲gene recombination ▲protein conjugation and the R&D personnel necessary including the base technology to mass-produce various vaccines immediately upon development. SK bioscience CEO Jae-Yong Ahn said, “It is a great pleasure that the manufacturing facilities of the L House Plant have been recognized for its global capabilities, receiving a series of the highest-level certifications in the globe. Based on the company’s verified vaccine manufacturing and quality control capabilities, we will continue to expand our CMO business in partnership with global companies.”
- Company
- Montelukast sales 22%↓ in 2 years and adds impurity issue
- by Kim, Jin-Gu Jan 25, 2022 05:55am
- The market for the montelukast ingredient used to treat allergic rhinitis and asthma has contracted for two consecutive years. The reduction is analyzed to be due to the combined effect of the US FDA’s side effect warning request for the ingredient in 2020 and the prolonged COVID-19 crisis. Industry eyes are on how the impurity issue that recently emerged would additionally affect the market. ◆Conflicting results by product… Singulair ↓ 32% vs Monterizine ↑ 15% According to the industry research institution UBIST on the 25th, outpatient prescription sales of the allergic rhinitis and asthma treatment market for montelukast was ₩94.8 billion last year. The market had risen from ₩76.1 billion in 2016 to 121 billion in 2019 but had seen a decline for two consecutive years since. Compared to 2019 when the market expanded to its greatest, the market had shrunk 22% over the recent 2 years. Montelukast is one of the most common drugs used to treat allergic rhinitis and asthma. The original drug is Organon Korea’s Singulair. In Korea, MSD Korea received approval for the original drug in 2000, and around a hundred domestic pharmaceutical companies are selling generic versions with the same ingredient. Most of the key products were unable to avoid the reduction in their prescription amount. Sales of the market lead Singulair shrunk 32% from ₩39.2 billion in 2019 to ₩26.5 billion last year. Other montelukast drugs also saw a double-digit reduction in sales. HK Inno.N’s ‘Lukio’ dropped 31% (₩12.8 billion→₩8.8 billion), Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s ‘Montezal’ dropped 35% (₩7.3 billion→₩4.7 billion), Hutec Korea Pharmaceutical’s ‘Singuldown’ dropped 26% (₩5.3 billion→₩3.9 billion), Daewon Pharmaceutical’s ‘Singuluka’ dropped 42%(₩3.1 billion→1.5 billion). On the other hand, prescription of some products has increased greatly. Sales of Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s ‘Monterizine’ increased 15% from ₩8 billion to ₩9.3 billion in the same period. Monterizine is a combination of montelukast and a third-generation antihistaminic agent ‘levocetirizine.’ It is the only combination drug sold in Korea. ◆ FDA’s ‘black box warning’ and ‘prolonged COVID-19 crisis’ cause combined effect Analysts believe that this was a combined effect from the prolonged COVID-19 and FDA’s side effect warning. The FDA required a ‘Black box warning’ on montelukast products in March 2020. The black box warning is the FDA's most stringent warning for drugs and medical devices in the market. In particular, the FDA strongly advised health care providers to avoid prescribing montelukast to patients with mild allergic rhinitis, as it is the FDA’s judgment that the risk outweighs the benefits for mild patients. According to the FDA, serious adverse reactions, including suicide, have been reported with the use of Singulair since 2008. Some of these side effects occurred while the patients were treated with montelukast and disappeared after discontinuing the drug. The prolonged COVID-19 incidence had also reduced the prescriptions. The pediatric clinics have been one of the areas most affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Since most patients with allergic rhinitis and asthma are children and adolescents, the prolonged COVID-19 crisis has aggravated the reduction in prescriptions of montelukast. ◆MFDS orders NDPA impurity tests…rises as a ‘new variable’ in market The industry has also been paying attention to the impurity issue that had arisen recently. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety had recently ordered pharmaceutical companies to conduct an investigation into their montelukast ingredient and finished products for impurities and submit the reports by April 25th. This precautionary measure was issued after the ministry received safety information that N- nitrosodipropylamine (NDPA) was detected in the API montelukast. The NDPA is a new nitrosamine impurity that has been identified. Since 2018, two types of nitrosamine impurities, - ‘N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA)’ and ‘N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA)’ were detected in valsartan, ranitidine, and nizatidine. The MFDS predicts that NDPA occurred in the API manufacturing process of montelukast. Contrasting opinions have been produced on how the impurity concern may affect prescriptions in the field. Those who believe that impurity will not affect the market are focusing on the fact that such impurity issues have risen every year. After the valsartan incident in 2018, impurities were consecutively detected in ranitidine, nizatidine, metformin, losartan, varenicline, etc., building resistance among frontline clinics and hospitals regarding the issue. The government had also initially suspended the sale of all items, but recently ordered only specific lot numbers to be recalled. Others who have opposing views argue that it is too soon to predict that the impurity concern will not be significant, given that the montelukast are mainly prescribed to children and adolescents, unlike other items.
- Company
- United to complete P2T enrollment for its inhaled Covid drug
- by Lee, Seok-Jun Jan 25, 2022 05:55am
- Korea United Pharm will complete patient enrollment of its Phase II trial for the world’s first inhaled COVID-19 treatment ‘Corobin Activair (budesonide+ arformoterol).’ According to the company on the 24th, Korea United Pharm had been enrolling patients for its trial at specialized COVID-19 hospitals in Seoul to assess the safety and efficacy of Corobin Activair in patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 since last year. Korea United Pharm aims to receive conditional approval for its drug within the first half of this year after demonstrating its efficacy and safety in the Phase II trial. The company had completed manufacturing investigational Corobin Activair for the clinical trial last year. Its Sejong plant 2 is equipped with cGMP manufacturing facilities that can produce several million courses of Corobin Activair per year according to domestic and global demand immediately upon approval. A company official said, “With the COVID-19 virus continuing to prevail around the globe with variants such as the Omicron variant, Korea United Pharm will work with various institutions and focus all its capabilities on developing the world's first inhaled COVID-19 treatment.”
- Company
- Hanmi & Celltrion are producing generic COVID tx
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Jan 25, 2022 05:55am
- Hanmi and Celltrion produce oral COVID-19 treatments developed by MSD and supply them to underdeveloped countries. According to the industry on the 20th, Hanmi and Celltrion have completed a license-in contract with the MPP for the production of generic drugs for Molnupiravir (Lagevrio) treatment for COVID-19. The license contract is based on the granting of a non-exclusive license by MSD, the original developer of "Molnupiravir," that allows the sale of mid- to low-income countries through MPP, an international institution, to expand access to COVID-19 treatments. A number of pharmaceutical companies around the world submitted letters of intent to select licensees, and only 27 companies were given licenses. Hanmi Pharmaceutical and Celltrion will receive know-how in manufacturing Largevrio from Merck, and patent fees will be exempted until the WHO declares the end of the pandemic. Among domestic companies, DongbangFTL, a raw material company, was also selected. Under this contract, Hanmi Fine Chemical, a raw material drug company of Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group, will start producing raw materials for Largevrio. The produced raw materials will be transferred to Hanmi Pharmaceutical's smart plant located in Paltan, Gyeonggi-do, and put into the production of finished drugs. In the case of Celltrion, the development and production of Molnupiravir generic finished products will be handled by its affiliate Celltrion Pharmaceutical and supplied overseas by Celltrion. Celltrion Pharmaceutical has launched a formulation study with the aim of completing product development by the end of this year. Celltrion and Hanmi Pharmaceutical plan to produce generic for Largevrio and supply and sell them to some of the 105 underdeveloped countries. MPP is a UN-supported non-profit medical organization that signed an agreement with MSD in October last year on the provision of patent licenses for Molnupiravir. The contract between Hanmi Pharmaceutical and MPP was made in a surprise move in line with the aim of adding strength to the world's efforts to end COVID-19 by greatly increasing accessibility to underdeveloped countries. Largevrio is RNA analog and is a drug that is inserted instead of normal ribonucleic acid necessary for the virus replication process to induce virus death. Largevrio received EUA in the UK in November last year and was approved in the United States in December last year to administer it to patients who were unable to use "other approved COVID-19 treatments." Currently, the screening is being conducted in Korea. The "COVID-19 Treatment/Vaccine Development Pan-Government Support Committee" under the MOHW began behind-the-scenes support for the selection of Korean pharmaceutical companies by conducting prior consultations with MPP for the domestic production of oral COVID-19 treatments since November last year. In this regard, the government said it plans to continue to support the domestic production and global expansion of oral COVID treatments through corporate meetings. An official from Hanmi Pharmaceutical said, "Hanmi's decision has begun to end the COVID-19 pandemic." He said, "We will do our best to start production as soon as possible in close consultation with MPP and MSD and quickly supply high-quality medicines to the world based on Korea and the United States' excellent drug manufacturing technology and production capabilities." An official from Celltrion Group said, "Through this license acquisition process, we were able to reaffirm that Celltrion Group's chemical drug production capacity and technology met global demand and standards, and at the same time were competitive."
- Company
- Sales of SGLT-2 diabetes drugs surpassed 150 billion won
- by Ji Yong Jun Jan 24, 2022 05:56am
- Sales of SGLT-2 inhibitor-based diabetes treatments exceeded 150 billion won for the first time last year. The SGLT-2 inhibitor market, including Forxiga and Jardiance, continues to grow at double digits every year. ◆ Sales of SGLT-2 inhibitors have increased five times in the past five years According to UBIST, a pharmaceutical market research firm on the 21st, the total amount of outpatient prescriptions for SGLT-2 inhibitors last year was 150.1 billion won, up 17.2% from the previous year. Sales of SGLT-2 inhibitors in Korea, which amounted to 28.6 billion won in 2016, have more than tripled in the past five years. The market size of SGLT-2 inhibitors has grown year by year. It rose from 50.1 billion won in 2017 to 70.3 billion won (40%) in 2018, followed by 96.9 billion won (37.8%) in 2019. The following year, it achieved 127.9 billion won (32%) in 2020. This growth is expected to continue for the time being. Both Forxiga and Jardiance, SGLT-2 inhibitors, are likely to increase their prescription performance in the future as their indications expand to patients with full heart failure in addition to diabetes treatment. SGLT-2 plays a role in reabsorbing glucose from urine into blood. SGLT-2 inhibitors are mechanisms that inhibit this reabsorption action to prevent glucose from entering the bloodstream and release it into urine. ◆SGLT-2 inhibitors such as Forxiga and Jardiance lead the growth The leading items in the domestic SGLT-2 inhibitor market are AstraZeneca's Forxiga and Jardiance. Last year, Sales of AstraZeneca's Forxiga and Xigduo recorded 79.5 billion won. The domestic market share alone is 52.9%. By product, Forxiga's outpatient prescription amount was 42.6 billion won, up 12% from the previous year. During the same period, Xigduo recorded 36.9 billion won, up 21.3%. It is analyzed that AstraZeneca got the preemptive effect when it first introduced Forxiga in Korea in 2014. The joint sale with domestic companies from the beginning of entering the market is also believed to have affected the increase in performance. AstraZeneca started co-selling with CJ Healthcare (currently HK inno.N) from the beginning of its launch. Since March 2018, it has been jointly selling with Daewoong Pharmaceutical. Jardiance and Jardiance Duo of Beringer Ingelheim and Lilly are closely chasing Forxiga. Last year, Jardiance achieved 40.9 billion won in outpatient prescription performance, up 10.8%. During the same period, Jardiance Duo also rose 46.7% to 24.5 billion won. The performance of these two items is 65.3 billion won, with 43.5% market share. Jardiance was released in 2016, two years later than Forxiga in the domestic SGLT-2 inhibitor market. Although it is generic, it is evaluated that it is acting as a positive factor in expanding prescription performance by proving the effect of reducing cardiovascular mortality through clinical trials. Astellas' Suglat and MSD's Steglatro's prescription performance was poor. Suglat's outpatient prescription amount stood at 3.5 billion won last year, similar to the previous year. Suglat has been in charge of distribution, marketing, and sales since April 2018. At that time, a synergy effect was expected when Handok, which had diabetes treatments such as Tenelia, introduced Suglat, but its performance was not good. MSD's Steglatro rather reduced prescription performance. Last year, Steglatro's outpatient prescriptions fell 21.8% from the previous year.
- Company
- BI-Boryung concludes copromotion deal for NOAC ‘Pradaxa’
- by Kim, Jin-Gu Jan 24, 2022 05:56am
- Boehringer Ingelheim and Boryung Pharmaceuticals have concluded its co-promotion deal for Boehringer Ingelheim’s non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC) therapy ‘Pradaxa (dabigatran).’ Boehringer Ingelheim plans to directly sell Pradaxa starting this year. According to industry sources on the 21st, Boehringer Ingelheim and Boryung Pharmaceuticals concluded their co-promotion deal for Pradaxa at the end of last year. Rather than find a new partner company to sell its product, Boehringer Ingelheim decided to sell Pradaxa directly. An official from Boehringer Ingelheim said, “The two companies agreed to terminate the copromotion deal at the end of last year. The company will be directly selling the product starting this year.” Pradaxa is a dabigatran NOAC anticoagulant that received attention for having a better effect in preventing blood clots with fewer bleeding side effects compared to the anticoagulant warfarin. Pradaxa has started replacing warfarin in the early 2010s, increasing its influence in the prescription field. Boehringer Ingelheim received approval for the drug in Korea in 2011 and released the drug the next year. A the time of release, the company joined forces with Yuhan Corp for its sale, Boehringer Ingelheim taking charge of hospital-level institutions, and Yuhan of private clinics. Then for 4 years from 2018 to the previous year, Boehringer Ingelheim worked with Boryung Pharmaceuticals for the copromotion of Pradaxa. However, the drug’s sales performance was less impressive than its competitors in the Korean market. Compared to Daiichi Sankyo’s ‘Lixiana,’ Bayer’s ‘Xarelto,’ BMS’s ‘Eliquis’ that grossed ₩50-₩60 billion per year in outpatient prescriptions, Pradaxa made less than ₩15 billion. Also, the drug’s substance patent expired in July last year. Intro Biopharma, Aju Pharm, Jinyang Pharm, and Huons had invalidated Pradaxa’s salt and composition patent and was granted generic exclusivity.
- Company
- The growth rate of the DPP-4i market increased slightly
- by Ji Yong Jun Jan 24, 2022 05:55am
- The domestic DPP-4i diabetes treatment market, which is formed at 600 billion won a year, slowed down last year. It recorded the lowest growth rate in the last seven years. In the DPP-4 inhibitor market, where growth has slowed, the position of domestic companies has also expanded significantly. Rx sales for foreign company products fell. ◆DPP-4 inhibitor, growth rate of 1% in 7 years According to UBIST, a pharmaceutical market research firm, on the 19th, the total market for DPP-4 inhibitors last year was 611.3 billion won, up 1.3% from a year earlier. The growth rate of the DPP-4 inhibitor market is the lowest since 2014. In the past seven years, the market for DPP-4 inhibitors has grown rapidly. It increased 21.5% from 299.5 billion won in 2014 to 363.9 billion won in 2015. Since then, it has surpassed 600 billion won for the first time, recording 437.6 billion won in 2016, 468.6 billion won in 2017, 502.3 billion won (7.1%) in 2018, 569.1 billion won (13.2%) in 2019, and 602.9 billion won (5.9%) in 2020. Since MSD's Januvia was released in 2007, it has become a trend by replacing existing diabetes drugs. Since then, nine active ingredients have been released in the DPP-4 inhibitor market and are fiercely competing. ◆LG Chem, Dong-A ST, and Handok's expansion of influence in the DPP-4i market It was confirmed that domestic companies made strides in the DPP-4i market last year. The prescription amount of all three domestic pharmaceutical companies, LG Chem, Dong-A ST, and Handok, has increased. LG Chem's three types of Zemiglo prescriptions, Zemiglo, Zemimet, and Zemiro, totaled 130.3 billion won, up 8.8% from the previous year. The market share also expanded 2.1%p from 19.2% in 2020 to 21.3% last year. Despite the slowing growth of Zemiglo , the combination drug has expanded its influence. Zemiglo's prescription amount last year was 38.9 billion won, up 2.6% from the previous year. Sales of Zemimet reached 90.8 billion won over the same period, up 11.6% from the previous year. Dong-A ST's self-developed new drug Suganon series also saw its prescription amount rise. Last year, the total amount of prescriptions, including Suganon and Sugamet, surpassed 30 billion won for the first time with 32.6 billion won. The market share was 5.3%, an increase of 1.3%p from the previous year. Suganon's outpatient prescriptions last year amounted to 13 billion won, up 23.51% from a year earlier. During the same period, Sugamet also increased 39.72% to 19.6 billion won. Handok's Tenelia series recorded 46.2 billion won in prescriptions last year. Tenelia's prescription amount was 21.4 billion won, up 83% from the previous year. During the same period, Tenelia M (Tenerigliptin + Metformin) increased by 9% to 24.8 billion won. ◆ Multinational corporation DPP-4 inhibitor, slowing prescription performance The prescription performance of items from multinational companies has fallen. Last year, the total amount of prescriptions for the MSD Januvia products was 171 billion won, down 2.9% from a year earlier. Among the Januvia products, the decrease in prescriptions for Januvia was the largest at 5.8%. Sales of Janumet fell 3.8% from the previous year to 76.2 billion won, while Janumet XR's sales rose 1.8% to 50.4 billion won. Sales of the Trajenta prodcuts also slowed down. It decreased by 1.5% from 61.6 billion won to 60.7 billion won. Trajenta Duo's sales recorded 65.5 billion won, down 2.6%. Sales of Novartis' Galvus products decreased by 0.8% from 47 billion won to 46.6 billion won, and Sales of Takeda's Nesina fell 3.7% from 32.1 billion won to 30.9 billion won. In 2020, Takeda sold its rights to Celltrion in the Asia-Pacific region of 18 Rx drugs and OTC drugs. It was found that Nesina's transfer process has not yet been completed. Sales of AstraZeneca's Onglyza and Kombiglyze also fell 1.2% from 27.6 billion won in 2020 to 27.3 billion won last year.
- Company
- Avastin biosimilar "Onbevezy" can be prescribed in earnest
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Jan 21, 2022 05:56am
- Samsung Bioepis' Avastin biosimilar Onbevezy has become possible to be prescribed in earnest. According to related industries, Onbevezy, a biosimilar of the blockbuster anticancer drug Avastin, passed DC of medical institutions such as Chilgok Kyungpook National University Hospital and Hwasun Chonnam National University Hospital, including Samsung Medical Center, Seoul National University Hospital, and Asan Medical Center. It has been entering the market quickly since insurance benefits were registered in September last year. Onbevezy's price was set at 208,144 won for 0.1g/4ml and 677,471 won for 0.4g/16ml. Compared to the original Avastin, it is 69% and 63%, respectively. Boryung Pharmaceutical, which has signed a domestic exclusive copyright agreement between Onbevezy 100mg and Onbevezy 400mg since May last year, is expected to actively carry out promotions. Avastin is a targeted anticancer drug with various indications. According to IQVIA, a pharmaceutical market research firm, Avastin's domestic sales reached 118.1 billion won in 2020. It is also a product that recorded sales of 7.73 billion Swiss franc (about 8.8 trillion won, as of 2019) in the global market. Competition for Avastin biosimilars is expected to expand further. In May last year, Pfizer's 'Jairabeve was approved in Korea, and Alvogen Korea's product was also approved on the 19th. Celltrion's biosimilar is also in the process of licensing in September last year. If it expands its scope to markets around the world, more companies are competing. Mvasi, co-developed by Amgen and Allergan, is already competing with Avastin. In addition, Beringer Ingelheim, Biocon, AstraZeneca, Kyowa Kirin Korea, Celltrion, and Prestige BioPharma are developing biosimilars.
