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Antihistamine sales benefit from end of pandemic and endemic
by Son, Hyung-Min Mar 22, 2024 06:06am
Last year, sales of major antihistamines showed a clear recovery, exceeding the level it had made before the pandemic. Sales of antihistamines had plummeted in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis is that the increase in sales is likely due to the rise in allergy patients with the lifted mask mandates and the increase in outdoor activity that followed. According to the market research institution IQIVA on the 21st, sales of the antihistamine Xyzal increased 18% YoY to reach KRW 14.4 billion the past year. Xyzal is a third-generation antihistamine developed by UCB Korea and is the leader in the antihistamine market. Antihistamine drugs block histamine, which is involved in allergic reactions such as hives, redness, and itching. In addition to allergic conditions, they are also used to relieve rhinitis, asthma, and nasal congestion. Because antihistamines work on the central nervous system (CNS), they can cause side effects such as drowsiness and sedation. However, third-generation antihistamines are known to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) less frequently than first- and second-generation medications, making them less likely to cause drowsiness. Xyzal’s sales decreased by 17.6% to KRW 9.3 billion in 2020 from KRW 11.3 billion in 2019, but increased again to KRW 9.9 billion in 2020 and then to KRW 12.2 billion in 2022. The industry believes sales of antihistamines will continue to grow along with the increase in the number of allergic rhinitis patients in Korea. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the rate of physicians’ diagnosis of allergic rhinitis increased from 16.8% in 2012 to 21.2% in 2022. The NHIS data also showed that the number of patients diagnosed with allergic rhinitis increased to 6.01 million in 2022 from less than 5 million in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other third-generation antihistamines also saw a resurgence in sales with the end of the pandemic. Handok's Allegra generated sales of KRW 8.1 billion last year, up 10.9% YoY. Allegra is a fexofenadine-based antihistamine developed by Sanofi, and Handok holds domestic rights for the drug in Korea. Allegra’s sales were sluggish in 2020 and 2021, KRW 4.8 billion and KRW 5 billion, respectively, but recovered to KRW 7.3 billion in 2022 and surpassed KRW 8 billion last year. Fexonadine, a same-ingredient drug from Hanmi Pharmaceutical, also saw a 21% increase in sales YoY. Sales of Organon Korea’s Aerius, a desloratadine-based third-generation antihistamine, rose 44.4%. The rebound in sales has led to a series of launches of third-generation antihistamines by domestic drugmakers as well. Samjin Pharm and GC Biopharma also launched their fexofenadine-based allergy treatments this month. first-and-second generation antihistamines also show good sales...Sales of Clarityne sluggish In addition to third-generation antihistamines, sales of first- and second-generation antihistamines also grew in general. UCB Korea’s Zyrtec, a second-generation antihistamine, generated sales of KRW 14.3 billion last year, up 14.4% from KRW 12.5 billion in 2022. Zyrtec has been sold exclusively in Korea by the local drug distributor BeoYoung since last year. In Korea, Zyrtec sold 2.628 million tablets last year. Sales of UCB Korea’s Ucerax, a first-generation antihistamine, reached KRW 1.4 billion, up 55.5% YoY. The company had previously considered withdrawing the marketing authorization of its Ucerax due to insufficient supply, but the company succeeded in resuming supply in 2019 with Yuhan Corp taking over domestic distribution. Sales of Hansol Pharm’s Zeromine soft capsules grew 58.3% compared to 2022. On the other hand, sales of Bayer’s Clarityne and Yungin Pharmaceutical’s Plakon dropped sharply. Clarityne posted sales of KRW 40 million last year, down 60% from the KRW 1 billion in 2022. Clarityne is a second-generation antihistamine developed by Merck, and Bayer acquired its marketing rights in 2014 when it acquired Merck's OTC division. Clarityne's sales fell from KRW 1.1 billion in 2019 to KRW 900 million in 2021, and last year, sales fell to less than KRW 100 million. Bayer Korea explained, "The product has been out of stock since Q1 last year due to a shortage of supply that was unable to meet the high demand, which led to the decline in sales.” Plakon’s sales fell 70% YoY and reached KRW 90 million last year. Before COVID-19, Plakon ‘s sales were in the KRW 2 billion range, but sales have continued to decline. Yungin Pharmaceutical withdrew the product from the Korean market by withdrawing its marketing authorization for the drug. Plakon, which was approved in Korea in 1962, is a first-generation antihistamine containing piprinhydrinate and was subject to clinical reevaluations in 2021. Yungin Pharmaceutical did not submit the reevaluation data and received administrative dispositions - a two-month sales suspension in December of the same year. The company voluntarily withdrew the product in February 2022. Accordingly, Plakon was also removed from the drug shortage prevention list in April 2022.