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- 2026-03-17 09:48:45
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- Samsung BioLogics acquired all of its shares in Epis
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Apr 24, 2022 06:33pm
- View of Samsung Bioepis buildingSamsung BioLogics will incorporate Samsung Bioepis as a 100% subsidiary and operate a separate management system. Samsung BioLogics announced on the 20th that it has completed the first payment of $1 billion in the acquisition of Epis shares to Biogen. From the day the first payment was completed under the contract between the two companies, Epis was officially converted into a 100% subsidiary of Samsung BioLogics. Earlier in January, Samsung BioLogics signed a contract with Biogen to acquire 10,341,852 shares of Epis (50%-1 share) for 2.7655 trillion won. Of the total amount, $50 million is equivalent to an additional "Earn-out" cost if certain conditions are met, and the remaining $2.25 billion will be paid in installments over the next two years. Samsung BioLogics raised a total of 3.2008 trillion won through a paid-in capital increase in shareholders' allocation to raise the cost of acquiring Epis shares. It achieved a high subscription rate of more than 100% in the paid-in capital increase public subscription for shareholders. The public offering of 400 billion won worth of shares for executives and employees recorded a subscription rate of nearly 100%, while existing shareholders such as Samsung C&T and Samsung Electronics made 100% subscriptions. As a result, Samsung BioLogics ended its partnership with Biogen for the first time in 10 years. Samsung BioLogics established Epis in 2012 in the form of a joint venture with Biogen. Epis was launched in February 2012 with a capital of 164.7 billion won. At this time, Biogen invested 24.7 billion won, or 15% of its capital. In 2018, Biogen raised its stake to 50% when it exercised its call option for Samsung Epis. Initially, Biogen established Samsung Biologics and signed a call option contract to transfer shares of Samsung Bioepis up to 50% - 1 share by June 29, 2018. Biogen decided to acquire shares when the call option contract expired. In June 2018, Samsung BioLogics took over 9,226,068 shares of Epis 19,567,921 shares for $700 million (748.6 billion won). Samsung BioLogics said, "As the joint management system with Biogen is transformed into Samsung BioLogics' sole management system, independent and rapid decision-making on Epis is expected to be possible. Through this, we believe that we will be able to push for mid- to long-term growth strategies such as the development of new pipelines, open innovation, and new drugs more quickly and flexibly." Starting with the acquisition of Epis, Samsung BioLogics plans to take a leap forward toward global bio companies. It is expected to internalize Epis' R&D capabilities in biopharmaceutical and expand its business portfolio to the development of new drugs in the long run. Samsung BioLogics plans to continue its bold and preemptive investment to secure future growth engines by using the investment funds secured by the paid-in capital increase to build its fourth plant and purchase additional sites. John Lim, president of Samsung Biologics, said, "Epis' capabilities and know-how will as an opportunity to making Samsung's bio business a global top tier."
- Company
- Tecentriq, first immunotherapy reimbursed in liver cancer
- by jung, sae-im Apr 22, 2022 06:07am
- Roche’s Tecentriq(atezolizumab) became the first cancer immunotherapy to be approved for reimbursement in liver cancer. Analysts have assessed that it had prepared the footsold to expand its sales with the first expansion in its scope of reimbursement in 3 years since 2019. Tecentriq is continuing its stride to overcome the stronghold of Keytruda, the current leader in the cancer immunotherapy market. The National Health Insurance Service had preannounced the posting of the ‘Revision to the notice for drugs prescribed and administered to cancer patients’ that contains a new category created to establish reimbursement standards for Tecentriq in liver cancer. The reimbursement will be applied from May 1st. According to the amendment, Tecentriq will be reimbursed as monotherapy in first-line for patients with metastatic NSCLC whose tumors are PD-L1 positive (TC≥50% or IC≥ 10%) and do not have EGFR of ALK mutations. Also, the drug will become the first immunotherapy to be approved for liver cancer (patocellular carcinoma, HCC). Among patients with advanced or unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), those satisfy all of the following conditions: ▲who are Stage III or higher ▲Child-Pugh class A and ▲have a ECOG PS (performance status) 0-1, may receive reimbursement for Tecentriq in the first-line in combination with Avastin (bevacizumab). The drug is approved for reimbursement for basically one year in liver cancer, and when no clinical results are announced on the optimal period of administration within the year, reimbursement can be approved for up to 2 years at the most. As a latecomer in cancer immunotherapy, the company has been hurrying to extend its reimbursement to expand its share in the market. Although the agenda had made slow progress after passing the Cancer Drug Deliberation Committee in February last year, the agenda gained momentum this year and was finally approved after 1 year and 2 months. Source: IQVIA In terms of reimbursement, Tecentriq’s scope has neared that of the immunotherapy leader Keytruda. Keytruda currently owns the broadest indication among all cancer immunotherapies. The drug was approved for 18 indications in 14 cancer types including lung cancer, head and neck cancer, melanoma, and gastric cancer. However, among the approved indications, Keytruda is only reimbursed for NSCLC, Hodgkin lymphoma., and melanoma. It took the drug 4 years just to extend the scope of reimbursement (both monotherapy and combination therapy) to first-line from second-line in NSCLC. This goes to show how difficult reimbursement extensions are for the costly immunotherapies. Roche has been expanding its reimbursement relatively quickly by actively accepting government proposals. It succeeded in entering reimbursement in one year since its approval, and in 2019, it became the first immuno-oncology drug to remove the PD-L1 expression rate restriction and broaden its scope of reimbursement. Based on this, Tecentriq posted ₩67.2 billion in sales last year based on the drug research institution IQVIA. This is an 81.6% increase from the ₩37 billion made in the previous year. It is only one-third of the sales of Keytruda, which is posted nearly ₩200 billion won, but Tecentriq’s sales are increasing at a rapid pace. The drug significantly narrowed its gap with Opdivo (₩85 billion), the runner-up in the market. The extended reimbursement approval this year has laid the grounds for Tecentriq’s sales expansion. In particular, Tecentriq is the only drug that entered reimbursement among cancer immunotherapies, and is expected to bring a significant impact on the drug’s sales growth. The Tecentriq and Avastin combination extended the survival period of liver cancer patients by about 6 months compared to Nexavar (sorafenib), the only first-line drug that had been available for 10 years.
- Company
- The opinions of the pharmaceutical community vary widely
- by jung, sae-im Apr 22, 2022 06:07am
- Employees of pharmaceutical companies who have entered the era of post-COVID-19 due to the end of social distancing are divided. Various opinions are coming out as it is divided into pharmaceutical companies that maintain telecommuting and pharmaceutical companies that terminate. Pros and cons also followed group meetings such as company dinners and workshops. According to the pharmaceutical industry on the 21st, as social distancing has been completely lifted, pharmaceutical companies are also preparing to return to their daily lives. They would like to reduce or end telecommuting, and gradually promote suspended dinners and workshops. However, employees who have been satisfied with telecommuting and reduced company dinners for two years have recognized that commuting and company dinners are unnecessary hours. They look upset at the news that they can return to their old company culture. A, an employee of a multinational company, said, "I've had enough meetings and work from home, and my work efficiency has increased," adding, "Now I feel like commuting time is a waste. It's better to take care of one more task at that time," he said. B, an employee of a domestic company, said, "When there was a business hour limit, it ended at 9-10 o'clock even if we had a company dinner, but now there is no time limit, so the burden has increased. I'm already stressed out because I can have a company dinner until after midnight like before." C, an employee of a domestic company, also said, "There are already talks about having a company dinner in the department. During the COVID-19 period, I was able to enjoy a "life with dinner" while doing personal hobby activities, but I think it will be difficult to enjoy hobbies now, he confessed. Pharmaceutical salespeople, who had become a daily routine to go to work in the local area, are also worried that the number of office workers will increase. D, a sales employee at a domestic company, said, "As the number of office visits decreased due to COVID-19, the movement path was efficient, but the lifting of distance is likely to double the time to go to work again." There are some people who welcome going to work. This is because they felt limited in communication through telecommuting. E, an employee of a multinational company, said, "I moved during the COVID-19 period, but it took a while to identify employees in each department because I was working from home," adding, "It is not easy to communicate because there are still a lot of people out of touch. It seems that face-to-face communication is much more helpful in handling tasks with a lot of collaboration between departments," he said. F, an employee of a multinational company, said, "I have a hard time staying at home for a long time, so I feel lonely and depressed because I had to work from home when COVID-19 was serious, but now I have autonomy to go to work on purpose." In fact, the preference was also mixed in a survey conducted by commercial real estate data company Rsquare on career tech platform people and 2,625 office workers in their 20s and 50s or older last month. 37% of the respondents preferred the form of "going to work at the office and working in a designated seat," while half of them cited "the necessity and efficiency of face-to-face work" as the reason. Respondents in their 30s preferred "hybrid work," a mixture of commuting and telecommuting. The company's workshop, which had been suspended for a while, is also showing signs of reviving. There are opinions that a workshop is needed for unity and opinions that it is unnecessary. G, an employee of a domestic company, said, "In particular, after COVID-19, new employees do not know who belongs to which department because OJT (on the job training) is also online. In the past, collaboration was smooth through workshops and interdepartmental dinners, but since it was suspended for more than two years, we often had difficulty knowing each other, he said. "I hope there will be a chance to get together once in a while, even if not often." H, a domestic company employee, said, "I don't know if I really need to go to a group workshop. It is possible to communicate smoothly through tea meetings between collaborative departments, he said. "It has been suspended due to COVID-19, but if we make good use of small meetings such as company clubs, we will be able to produce better effects than workshops."
- Company
- Companies are struggling with the form of post-COVID-19 work
- by Apr 20, 2022 06:06am
- As social distancing measures are lifted in two years, changes are also detected in the pharmaceutical industry. However, telecommuting is unlikely to disappear immediately. As more and more conferences attempt online and offline hybridization this year, they are also cautious about overseas business trips. ◆ Maintaining voluntary work for multinational companies, domestic companies are gradually ending telecommuting Since the 18th, all social distancing regulations, including restrictions on the number of private gatherings and business hours, have been lifted. In two years and one month, it has completely shifted to the stage of daily recovery. Telecommuting began in the pharmaceutical industry from early 2020 when COVID-19 began to spread. At that time, only a small number of multinational pharmaceutical companies introduced an autonomous work system that combines home and work. As the spread of COVID-19 spread across the country, domestic companies, led by multinational pharmaceutical companies, also implemented telecommuting. In particular, due to the frequent access to clinics, the pharmaceutical industry began working from home faster than the government. At the end of the distancing measures, many pharmaceutical companies that maintained telecommuting are in the mood to watch the trend more and decide rather than establishing new guidelines immediately. They say that it is too early to be relieved as more than 100,000 COVID-19 confirmed cases are still occurring a day. Multinational pharmaceutical companies that widely utilize telecommuting plan to maintain their current form of autonomous work even after the end of COVID-19. Korean subsidiaries of many multinational pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Roche, MSD, and Viatris, replied, "The guidelines recommending telecommuting will continue." An official from Viatris Korea said, "Since Omicron mutation became the dominant species, we have been working 100% autonomous for the safety of our employees." "With the government's lifting of social distancing, we will flexibly adjust our telecommuting and commuting two or three times a week in consultation with our manager," he said. An official from Amgen Korea said, "There were no separate guidelines for lifting telecommuting, and executives and employees who need to go to work at the office will continue to go out voluntarily." ◆ International Conference Online and Offline Due to COVID-19, most conferences and conferences have been converted online over the past two years. This year, many academic societies are still taking the form of a hybrid that maintains online or combines online and offline. The JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, which is considered the world's largest pharmaceutical bio investment event, maintained its online format in January. This is because omicron mutations are showing signs of re-proliferation around the world. The AACR held this month was held in person for the first time in three years, but the ASCO, scheduled for June, will be online and offline at the same time. In addition, a number of conferences, including EULAR, ADI Conference, and EHA, will be held both online and offline. Pharmaceutical companies are considering overseas business trips more because there are many conferences that take the form of a hybrid. An official from a multinational pharmaceutical company said, "We are looking at the data to be announced at the ASCO this year, and local participation has not been confirmed. However, as the academic societies also seem to be recovering from their daily lives, we will consider business trips later." Another multinational pharmaceutical company official also said, "We have not decided on an overseas business trip yet," adding, "It is expected to start face-to-face with overseas meetings that are essential." There are still concerns about new variations," he explained.
- Company
- Homegrown Rosuzet·K-CAB sell over ₩10 bil a month
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Apr 20, 2022 06:05am
- New drugs developed by Korean pharmaceutical companies are showing strength in the prescription market. Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s Rosuzet and HK Inno. N’s K-CAB has recorded over ₩10 billion in monthly sales and made a good start. According to the market research institution UBIST on the 19th, the hyperlipidemia treatment Lipitor recorded No.1 in Q1 making ₩48.8 billion in outpatient prescriptions in Q1 this year. This is a 1.8% decrease from the same period of the previous year, but still a solid lead over the runner-up. Lipitor is Pfizer Korea’s dyslipidemia treatment that contains atorvastatin that was introduced to the Korean market in 1999. Despite the fierce competition with the entry of around 100 generics after patent expiry, the original Lipitor has been boasting its strong influence over the prescription drug market. Viatris, which was launched through the merger of Pfizer’s off-patent drug division Upjohn and Mylan, has been in charge of its sales since November 2020. The homegrown drugs, Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s Rosuzet and HK Inno. N’s K-CAB continued its strong growth. Rosuzet recorded No.2 in sales among all outpatient prescriptions with ₩32.7 billion. Rosuzet is a combination drug for hyperlipidemia that was released at the end of 2015. Rosuzet has been experiencing rapid growth thanks to its market preoccupation effect and the popularity of the statin and ezetimibe combinations K-CAB’s prescription performance in Q1 had also expanded 23.3% from the previous year to record ₩30.1 billion. K-CAB, which was released in March 2019, is a new P-CAB class antiulcer drug. It had first created a sensation selling ₩30.9 billion in the first year of its release and has exceeded ₩100 billion in annual sales last year, only three years since its release. Unless something major comes up, sales of Rosuzet and K-CAB will again easily exceed ₩100 billion this year. Among homegrown drugs, Daewoong Bio’s Gliatamin, Chong Kun Dang’s Chong Kun Dang Gliatirin, and LG Chem’s Zemimet have made the ranks in outpatient prescriptions. Sales of the brain function enhancer that contains choline alphoscerate such as Gliatamin and Chong Kun Dang Gliatirin recorded ₩26.5 billion and ₩23.6 billion in prescriptions in Q1 this year. Despite the difficulties, the class is facing due to controversy over its efficacy, reimbursement reductions, and order for negotiations to redeem paid reimbursement expenses, the drugs have shown off their continued strength in the market. Sales of Gliatamin fell 0.4% YoY but continued to be popular in the market. Chong Kun Dang Gliatirin’s sales rose 10.5% YoY and showed high growth. Prescriptions of LG Chem’s antidiabetic combo drug Zemimet rose 7.0% YoY to record ₩23 billion and rank No.8 in outpatient prescriptions in Q1 this year. Zemimet is a combination of the new DPP-4 inhibitor class Zemiglo (gemigliptin) that was developed by LG Chem and metformin. The performance of Plavix among off-patent drugs by multinational pharmaceutical companies has also been noticeable. Sanofi-Aventis’s antithrombotic drug Plavix has sold 11.5% more than the previous year to record ₩28.9 billion in prescriptions, ranking at No.4. In Korea, Plavix is sold in partnership with Dongwha Pharm since 2017.
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- 1 in 3 don't know the right dose of antipyretic drugs
- by Apr 20, 2022 06:05am
- With COVID-19, 9 out of 10 consumers have purchased antipyretic drugs within the past six months, but one in three still does not know the appropriate dosage, indicating that appropriate medication guidance is needed. Johnson & Johnson Korea announced the results of a survey conducted on 1,000 consumers aged 20 to 49 in Korea on the 18th through Open Survey, a domestic research company. The survey was designed to find out whether consumers are aware of the right dosage and information, and what factors affect purchase frequency, purchase purpose, and purchase as the demand for home remedies, including antipyretic analgesics, increases due to COVID-19 home treatment. According to the survey results, 9 out of 10 consumers (90.5%) of consumers aged 20 to 49 had experience purchasing antipyretic drugs (including emergency medicines such as comprehensive cold medicines) within the past six months. More than half (57.6%) of them felt that the frequency of purchasing antipyretic painkillers increased this year when home treatment began in earnest. As for "Who is the most recently purchased antipyretic pain reliever (including OTC cold medicine) for?" more than half, 50.3%, said they purchased it for "the whole family." 31.7% of the respondents said they did not know the appropriate dosage of antipyretic analgesics they usually take. Young people tended not to purchase specific brands. Six out of 10 (61.9%) said they did not know whether the antipyretic drug brand they usually buy was an original or generic drug. In addition, 78.7% of the respondents said they considered the "effect" the most important thing when purchasing antipyretic drugs, followed by safety (49.2%), brand (33.5%), ease of purchase (20.7%), and price (16.5%). As a result of the survey on "What is the original drug antipyretic pain reliever you know", 89.8% chose "Tylenol". 58.6% of the respondents chose "intention" to buy original medicines for those who have purchased antipyretic drugs within the past six months. Among the reasons for thinking that way (multiple responses), "safety data accumulated as long as they were sold (72.7%)" and "confidence given by original" (70.4%) were the most common. In particular, 78.9% of them said that originality is more important when purchasing medicines than general foods. The intention to purchase the original medicine was especially evident from consumers aged 20 to 49 who said they had purchased antipyretic drugs. An official from Johnson & Johnson Korea said, "The antipyretic pain reliever such as comprehensive cold medicines, has become a must-have item in the home, with 90.5% of consumers aged 20 to 49 saying they have purchased within six months." He said, "It is encouraging that interest in proper dosage is increasing as the demand for antipyretic drugs increases, but one in three people still say they do not know the proper dosage, so we will continue to work hard to provide consumer information such as medication guidance." Source: Johnson & Johnson, Korea
- Company
- Hanmi leads the outpatient prescription market in Q1 2022
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Apr 19, 2022 05:53am
- Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s performance stood out in the outpatient prescription market with its solidified lead heralded by the introduction of its new combination drug. Daewon Pharmaceutical’s prescription volume has also soared vertically due to the boom in anti-inflammatory and cold medicines following a surge in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Other major pharmaceutical companies also showed an increase in sales performance due to an increase in demand for COVID-19 symptom relief medications According to the pharmaceutical research institution UBIST on the 18th, Hanmi took the sole lead among pharmaceutical companies in Korea and abroad in outpatient prescriptions with ₩194.3 billion in Q1 this year. This is an 11.8% growth from the ₩173.89 billion in Q1 last year, and a ₩45.5 billion difference from the runner-up Chong Kun Dang. Also, this is an ₩80 billion difference with the No.3 Daewoong Pharmaceutical. Hanmi Pharmaceutical took this lead in the prescription drug market using its new combination drug. Prescriptions of Hanmi’s combination drug for hyperlipidemia, Rosuzet, increased 13.1% from Q1 of the previous year to record ₩32.7 billion. Rosuzet is a combination of ezetimibe and rosuvastatin that was released at the end of 2015. Rosuzet has made rapid growth every year since recording ₩24.3 billion in sales in 2016. Rosuzet has recorded a ₩10 billion range of prescriptions for 10 consecutive months since June last year. Hanmi’s leading new combination drug, the Amosartan family, has also shown continued growth. Hanmi has been selling its amlopidine and losartan combination Amosartan as well as Amosartan Plus, Amosartan Q, and Amosartan XQ. Amosartan Plus is a combination of three drugs, amlodipine, losartan, and chlorthalidone. Amosartan Q is a combination of Amosartan and the hyperlipidemia treatment rosuvastatin. Amosartan XQ is a combination of Amosartan, rosuvastatin, and ezetimibe that was released last year. Prescription sales of Amosartan, Amosartan Plus, Amosartan Q, and Amosartan XQ have increased 5.8% from the previous year to record ₩31.9 billion. Prescription performance of Amosartan rose 2.4% from the previous year to ₩21 billion, and Amosartan Plus rose 3.8% to ₩7 billion. Amosartan Q, Amosartan XQ also recorded ₩2.8 billion and ₩1.1 billion each. Sales of the antiulcer drug Esomezol rose 12.0% to ₩13.5 billion in Q1 this year. Prescription of Hanmi’s drugs that were used to relieve COVID-19 symptoms such as Clari, Suspen 8 hours, and Maxibupen has also increased greatly. Chong Kun Dang has ranked No.2 with prescriptions of ₩148.8 billion in Q1. However, its gap with the No.1 in the ranks had widened with its performance reduced by 4.7%. Daewoong Pharmaceutical has ranked No.3 with prescriptions of ₩114.1 billion, which was a 6.5% increase from the previous year. Prescriptions at major pharmaceutical companies have generally increased from Q1 last year. 15 of the 20 top companies have shown growth in prescriptions compared to the same period last year. In particular, Daewon Pharmaceutical's growth stood out among the companies. Daewon Pharmaceutical's outpatient prescription sales in the first quarter amounted to ₩83.8 billion, up 25.5% from the previous year. It surpassed the ₩82.8 billion recorded in Q4 2019 for the first time in 9 quarters and made a new record. The increased demand for anti-inflammatory and cold drugs due to the recent surge in the number of confirmed COVID-19 patients has led to this upward trend in prescriptions for Daewon Pharmaceutical. The anti-inflammatory analgesic Pelubi’s sales grew 22.0% from the previous year to record ₩9.5 billion in Q1. This is the largest record made since its release in 2007. Daewon’s original new drug Pelubi is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesic used for osteoarthritis and back pain. The upsurge in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased the demand for anti-inflammatory analgesics, increasing prescriptions of Pelubi as well. Prescriptions of Daewon’s cold medicine Codaewon have also increased greatly. Prescriptions of Codaewon S in Q1 this year were ₩6.4 billion, a 253.6% increase from the ₩1.8 billion recorded last year. Codaewon Forte’s sales have also increased twofold from the ₩2.9 billion last year to ₩5.6 billion in Q1 this year. Codaewon S is used to improve signs and symptoms of acute bronchitis and Codaewon Forte is indicated for coughs and sputum. Celltrion Pharm, Daewoong Bio, Hutecs, Boryung, and United Pharma Korea’s prescriptions have increased by over 10% in Q1 compared to the same period of the previous year. The surge in demand for COVID-19 symptom relief drugs such as cold drugs and anti-inflammatory analgesics are analyzed to have led to the improvement in prescription performance. On the other hand, the prescription volume of Chong Kun Dang, Viatris, Dong-A ST, Jeil Pharm, and Il Dong Pharmaceutical had decreased from the previous year.
- Company
- The prolonged slump in IPO of pharmaceutical bio
- by Kim, Jin-Gu Apr 19, 2022 05:52am
- Amid the prolonged sluggish trend in the IPO market in the pharmaceutical bio industry, attention is being paid to whether newly challenged companies will be able to draw a turnaround. According to the pharmaceutical industry on the 19th, there are two pharmaceutical bio companies that have been listed in the second quarter of this year, Wonteg and RP BIO. On top of that, Immunemed, Lunit, and Shaperon have proposed listing on KOSDAQ within the first half of the year. However, they have not yet been approved for a preliminary screening of the listing. RP BIO passed a preliminary review for listing on KOSDAQ on the 14th. It has been about four months since it filed a preliminary review in December last year. RP BIO is a manufacturer of soft capsule-type medicines and health functional foods. Its sales and operating profit last year were 114.9 billion won and 5.8 billion won. The largest shareholder is Yoon Jae-hoon, the second son of honorary chairman Yoon Young-hwan, founder of Daewoong Pharmaceutical. Prior to this, On the 31st of last month, Wonteg received approval for a preliminary review. It submitted a securities report on the 1st of this month. Wonteg is pushing for listing on KOSDAQ through a merger and acquisition of SPAC. Wonteg is a company that manufactures and sells laser and ultrasound medical devices related to skin beauty. On the 25th, Wonteg is raising the mood by announcing IR events related to listing. The pharmaceutical bio industry is paying attention to whether the two companies will be successful in IPO. Given that the IPO of pharmaceutical bio companies failed to make a hit in the first quarter, attention is growing on whether it will continue its sluggish trend in the second quarter or succeed in reversing the atmosphere. Three pharmaceutical bio companies listed this year are said to have failed to make a hit. Ad Biotech, which was listed in January, and Noul, which was listed in March, were decided to have a lower public offering price than Hope Band. BiofDNC, which was listed in February, has remained lower than the public offering price until recently after its stock price plunged on the first day of listing. As the pharmaceutical bio IPO market shrinks, more and more companies are giving up listing in the middle. In March, Boronoi submitted a report to the Financial Supervisory Service to withdraw its listing. Boronoi even received approval for listing, but temporarily suspended its listing plan as it failed to predict demand. KMRI, Finemedix, and FutureMedicine also voluntarily withdrew at the preliminary screening stage for listing. In the first half of last year alone, eight companies were newly and previously listed through corporate disclosure. Starting with PBPharma, Prestige Biologics, NeoImuneTech, Biodyne, SK Bioscience, HPO, GeneSystem, and ADM Korea debuted. Most of them were successful in box office. SK Bioscience succeeded in publicizing 1.4918 trillion won when it was listed on the securities market in March last year. Institutional investment conducted prior to listing recorded a competition ratio of 1275.47 to 1. In the subscription for general investors, more than 63 trillion won of evidence was collected. The industry believes that the sluggish IPO market has been affected by a combination of rising U.S. interest rates, the sluggish domestic stock market atmosphere due to the Ukrainian war, and weak investor sentiment in the bio industry. Another reason is that there are no large pharmaceutical bio companies that are about to be listed. This is in contrast to the consecutive listing of large pharmaceutical bio companies such as SK Biopharm two years ago and SD BioSensor, Inc·HK inno.N last year.
- Company
- Pharmaceutical industry starts face-to-face marketing
- by Kim, Jin-Gu Apr 18, 2022 05:58am
- As the government decided to completely lift social distancing measures from today (18th), the pharmaceutical bio industry is also actively planning offline marketing events. As large-scale offline events have been virtually impossible for nearly two years, marketers are raising expectations for changes caused by the move. ◆ Abolish social distancing in 2 years On the 15th, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum announced that social distancing will be lifted from the 18th through a meeting of the COVID-19 Central Countermeasure Headquarters held at the Seoul Government Complex. After today, the limit on the number of private gatherings and restaurant business hours will be removed. It is the first time in two years and one month that the social distancing guidelines are completely lifted. The pharmaceutical bio industry welcomes this measure. This is because offline marketing events have been virtually impossible due to restrictions on the number of private gatherings. There are also notable places that are preparing for a large-scale event next month. Boryung is planning a symposium on the launch of 'Dukarb Plus' next month. Dukarb Plus is the seventh product of Boryung's Canarb Family. An official from Boryung said, "We are preparing for a launching symposium at a hotel in Seoul next month," adding, " we are planning various offline symposiums and seminars for each business headquarters." The offline Dukarb Plus launch symposium contrasts with the online launch symposium when Dukaro and Akarb were released two years ago. Boryung held the Dukarb launch symposium online for the first time in the industry in March 2020. This web symposium was a great success with 2,500 medical staff accessing at the same time. In September, Akarb was released and similarly opened a web symposium. ◆ Pharmaceutical industry is planning to hold offline events in earnest in the second half of the year Other companies have similar situations. Although the timing of the resumption of offline symposiums, seminars, and product briefings are different, expectations are high that more active offline events will be possible by lifting social distancing measures. A marketing manager at a large pharmaceutical company said, "Since the beginning of this year, social distancing measures have been loosened little by little, and small product briefings have been sporadic," adding, "If the distance disappears, offline events will be more active." Another official from a large pharmaceutical company said, "We have focused on online marketing so far," and predicted, "Marketing activities such as symposiums, seminars, and product presentations will be carried out in a way that combines online and offline." Small and medium-sized pharmaceutical companies are even more pleased with the move. A marketing manager at a small and medium-sized pharmaceutical company said, "In the case of large pharmaceutical companies, they created their own online platform and carried out marketing activities, but small and medium-sized pharmaceutical companies failed to do so," adding, "We plan to actively carry out offline marketing events from the end of this month." ◆The workshop that has been postponed for two years is also moving to resume, "following the company's guidelines Internal events such as workshops and company dinners are also being resumed. However, it is confirmed that it is approaching somewhat more carefully than offline marketing events. An official from the pharmaceutical industry said, "Most of the workshops over the past two years have been replaced online or canceled altogether." Although no official company-level guidelines have been issued yet, offline workshops and dinners are expected to resume soon, he explained. An official from a multinational pharmaceutical company said, "It was like that before, but we will carry out offline activities according to the company's guidelines," adding, "Until now, offline events, whether internal or external events, have been completely banned. In the future, it is expected that it will be changed in a way that combines online and offline." Another multinational pharmaceutical company official said, "There is no immediate change," and predicted, "However, as distancing has been lifted from the second half, restrictions are expected to disappear in the stage of preliminary review or preparation."
- Company
- DHP Korea faces reimb. reevaluations for its HA eye drops
- by Nho, Byung Chul Apr 18, 2022 05:58am
- How DHP Korea, a company specializing in eye drops, will be establishing a strategy to defend its sales ahead of the upcoming reimbursement reevaluations for its HA (hyaluronic acid) products next year is drawing attention. In particular, this upcoming risk is highly likely to serve as a testbed to verify the company’s newly appointed CEO Eunyoung Park’s ability in crisis management and the creation of new growth engines. Eunyoung Park, who was formerly the SSK business unit head of Zuellig Pharma, was appointed head of DHP Korea last month. One key point of concern is whether the Health Insurance Reimbursement and Assessment Service’s reimbursement reevaluations would result in partial reimbursement cuts or large-scale reimbursement deletions, depending on which the company’s loss in sales would vary significantly. DHP Korea made sales of ₩57.3 billion in 2021, among which ₩34.1 billion was from reimbursed eye drop products. The other ₩23.1 billion was from CMOs and other deals. The external growth of HA eye drops accounted for ₩25.1 billion, 43% of the company’s total sales and 73% of the company’s sales from eye drops. This concentration on HA eye drops is why the reimbursement reevaluation of sodium hyaluronate eye drops by HIRA that is scheduled next year is foreshadowing a huge blow to DHP Korea's performance, regardless of whether it results in reimbursement cuts or deletions. DHP Korea’s key product, HA eye drops, had recorded its peak sales in 2020 at ₩30.4 billion, then fell to ₩5 billion last year. Other than Tearin F (₩1.2 billion→₩2.4 billion), Tearin S (₩2.8 billion→₩2.2billion), Tearin Free (₩14.3 billion→₩8.8 billion), and Tearin P (₩11.9 billion→₩11.5 billion) all showed negative growth. DHP Korea said, “Nothing has been determined yet on whether the reimbursement evaluations on sodium hyaluronate eye drops will be deleted or reduced. We will seek a strategic breakthrough after examining how it goes."
