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- 2026-03-18 16:17:36
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- NOAC prescription market growth stagnates
- by Kim, Jin-Gu Jan 27, 2021 06:15am
- The novel oral anticoagulant (NOAC) market seems to be plateauing after enjoying consistent two-digit growth for years. The outpatient prescription market marked a growth of almost 20 percent until 2019, but the growth shrunk down to 3 percent last year. Regardless of the decreased growth, Lixiana is still topping the market. Except for the market leader, the prescription performance by Xarelto, Pradaxa and Eliquis have dropped. The generics entering market seems to have critically affected Eliquis making a negative growth for the first time last year. Its generics are expanding their market presence from the second quarter in 2019. ◆NOAC market grows 3 percent making 184.3 billion won According to pharmaceutical market research firm UBIST on Jan 25, overall the last year’s NOAC market generated 184.3 billion won with a growth of 3 percent from the year before. The overall market volume expanded, but the growth was sluggish compared to previous years. Since the launch of Xarelto in 2009, the NOAC market welcomed Pradaxa and Eliquis in 2013, as well as Lixiana in 2016. Replacing the older generation anticoagulant warfarin, the NOAC rapidly got bigger. In last six years, the NOAC market generated 34.5 billion won, 80 billion won, 114.9 billion won, 151.5 billion won, 179 billion won and 184.3 billion won in year 2015 through 2020, respectively. Its streak of two-digit growth was crippled last year with 3 percent, after seeing 132 percent, 44 percent, 32 percent and 18 percent growth in 2016 through 2019, respectively. ◆Lixiana growth by 7 percent, when Xarelto, Eliquis and Pradaxa drop The market’s star items showed contrasting performance. Only the prescription volume of Lixiana by Daiichi Sankyo expanded, when all three others underperformed. Generating 59.9 billion won and 64 billion won in 2019 and 2020, respectively, the Lixiana prescription volume had a 7-percent growth. The drug may have been the last to join the market, but it topped the market in 2019 and is still widening the gap with the runner-up. The pharmaceutical industry analyzes the co-promotion deal signed with Daewoong Pharmaceutical is the key to the growth surge. In December of 2015, right before the product launch, Daiichi Sankyo inked the Lixiana co-promotion contract with Daewoong Pharmaceutical. The contract is still effective today. Xarelto, on the other hand, had two consecutive years of negative growth. Its prescription volume peaked in 2018 with 52 billion won, the volume has been on a downhill since 2019 making 50.8 billion won. Last year the drug’s volume dropped again to 50 billion won. The industry experts project it would go under 50 billion won this year. Eliquis also continued to make growth until 2019, but it turned downward last year. In year 2016 through 2020, the drug’s prescription volume hit 19.5 billion won, 30 billion won, 40.4 billion won, 49 billion won and 47.7 billion won, respectively. The industry experts point out the generics is the culprit of the plateauing growth. Since June last year, generic versions of Eliquis like Chong Kun Dang’s Liquisia, Yuhan’s Yuhan Apixaban, Samjin Pharm’s Elxaban, Hanmi Pharamceutical’s Apixban, Aju Pharm’s Eliban and YooYoung Pharmaceutical’s Yupix have been released to the NOAC market. The total prescription volume of Eliquis generics surged from 1.2 billion won in 2019 to 8.3 billion won in 2020. In last year, Liquisia, Elxaban and Yuhan Apixaban respectively generated 2.6 billion won, 1.7 billion won and 1.1 billion won. Taking account of the inclining quarterly prescription volume, the experts project they would break through the 10 billion won mark this year. Since 2016, Pradaxa’s prescription volume has been dropping. The volume plummeted to 14.3 billion won last year. Compared to 18.1 billion won in 2019, it took a 21-percent drop. Boehringer Ingelheim signed a co-promotion deal with Boryung Pharmaceutical from 2018, but it has not been so effective. ◆Generic versions of Xarelto and Pradaxa ready for launch And in this year, Xarelto and Pradaxa’s generics are to be released to the market and accelerate the shift in the NOAC market. Patent expiration dates for major NOACs First, four companies that overcame NOAC Pradaxa’s patent are to release their generics early. Intro Bio Pharma’s Dabican, Aju Pharm’s Dabitran, Jinyang Pharm’s Pradabi and Huon’s Hubitran are preparing for the launch. The four companies won the patent dispute against the original drug company Boehringer Ingelheim in January 2019. The obtained preferential sales rights are to last until April 2022. Another NOAC, Xarelto is also expecting its generic versions—Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s Riroxban and SK Chemical’s SK Rivaroxaban—to emerge in October. If Chong Kun Dang, successfully evades the product patent before Oct. 4, it would be able to market the product even before Hanmi Pharmaceutical and SK Chemical regardless of the preferential sales rights.
- Company
- 11 companies won consecutive patent disputes for Betmiga
- by Kim, Jin-Gu Jan 27, 2021 06:15am
- In the patent dispute over Betmiga PR (Mirabegron), an overactive bladder treatment with an annual prescription amount of ￦65 billion, generic companies won the first trial. From the standpoint of generic companies, including Hanmi and Chong Kun Dang, which have already launched generics, and are about to release generics, the obstacles related to patents have disappeared. However, It is highly likely that the original company Astellas will choose to go to the Supreme Court. ◆Use patent·crystal patent invalidated On the afternoon of the 22nd, the Patent Court of Korea ruled against the plaintiff (Astellas) in a lawsuit filed by Astellas against 11 companies including Hanmi and Chong Kun Dang. Following the first trial, the second trial also took the side of generics. Original and generic companies have been fighting over Betmiga PR's crystal patent and use patent. Legal disputes have been fierce for four years since Hanmi and others filed an invalidation trial in March 2015. In the end, the conclusion of the first trial was concluded in December 2019. Generic companies won use patents and some won crystal patents. As a result, Astellas took the case to the second trial, and at the second trial decided that both patents were invalid. ◆Generic exclusivity expires next month The ruling was to sell generics for Betmiga. the material patent expired in May last year. The composition patent, which expires in 2029, has also been successful by Hanmi. This trial decision was confirmed without appeal to Astellas. The patent invalidation was confirmed in the second trial following the first trial, making it easier for generic companies to sell generics. There are currently two products on the market. Hanmi and Chong Kun Dang received generic exclusivity and launched Mirabek and Selebeta respectively in June and July of last year. By the end of last year, the two companies had recorded outpatient prescriptions of ￦2.8 billion and ￦1 billion respectively. The generic exclusivity of the two companies expires on February 3, this year. After the expiration of generic exclusivity, 9 companies including Daewoong can participate in the generic market. However, if Astellas disagrees with the second trial decision and decides to go to the Supreme Court, it will be a burden for companies preparing to release generics. Regarding this, a pharmaceutical industry patent official said, "There is a high possibility that Astellas will lead the case to the Supreme Court."
- Company
- Sales of Statin-Ezetimibe combination have risen sixfold
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Jan 27, 2021 02:21am
- In the dyslipidemia treatment market, the combination drug market that combines 'Statin' and Ezetimibe' showed rapid growth. Despite COVID-19 outbreak, the sales continued high. In the past five years, sales have increased by six times. Hanmi's Rosuzet and MSD's Atozet led the uptrend. According to the drug research institute UBIST on the 25th, the prescription size of the lipid-regulator combination last year was ￦633.5 billion, an increase of 21.0% from the previous year. The prescription market for lipid-regulating drugs increased by 10.2% and 15.1%, respectively, compared to the previous year in 2018 and 2019, but the growth trend further rose last year. It showed the most remarkable growth among the major chronic disease treatment. The prescription amount of Statin drugs used for the treatment of dyslipidemia last year was ￦1.97 trillion, an increase of 3.4% from the previous year. The combination of calcium channel blocker (CCB) and angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB), which are the most commonly used treatments for hypertension, recorded ￦8,113 billion last year, up 10.1% from the previous year. The market for combination drugs that combines Ezetimibe and Statins showed remarkable growth. Last year, the outpatient prescription for the combination drug Statin-Ezetimibe was ￦470.8 billion, an increase of 20.9% from the previous year. It increased 55.6% in two years from ￦302.6 billion in 2018. Compared to the ￦80 billion in 2015, the market size has expanded by 6 times over the past five years. It is analyzed that Statin-Ezetimibe combination has an excellent effect in lowering LDL-C, and the preference is increasing because the drug price is not high. It is analyzed that Statin-Ezetimibe combination has an excellent effect in lowering LDL-C, and the preference is increasing because the drug price is less than taking two drugs separately. Simvastatin, Rosuvastatin, and Atorvastatin are sold in combination with Ezetimibe. Sales of Rosuvastatin-Ezetimibe combination products rose the most. Last year, the sales amount for the combination of Rosuvastatin and Ezetimibe was ￦352.9 billion, an increase of 25.7% from the previous year. It increased 67.9% from two years ago, and continued high growth. It increased by 159.1% from ￦136.6 billion in 2017, three years ago. The Rosuvastatin-Ezetimibe combination market began in 2015 when Hanmi released Rosuzet. It recorded ￦300 billion in sales after 5 years of entering the market. Atorvastatin-Ezetimibe combination was also promoted. Last year, the prescription amount for Atorvastatin-Ezetimibe was ￦74.7 billion, up 13.5% from the previous year. From ￦44.5 billion in 2018, it grew 60.6% over the past two years. Atozet is being sold jointly by MSD and Chong Kun Dang. Currently, only one Atorvastatin-Ezetimibe combination sold is MSD's Atozet. Sales of the Simvastatin-Ezetimibe combination were somewhat slow. Last year, the prescription amount of Simvastatin-Ezetimibe was ￦44.2 billion, a 0.1% increase from the previous year. MSD's Vytorin was the first to be released in the Statin-Ezetimibe combination market, but its growth is stagnating compared to other combination drugs. Last year, Rosuzet's prescription performance was ￦99.1 billion, up 22.4% from the previous year. Launched in late 2015, Rosuzet recorded ￦24.3 billion in prescriptions in 2016. It showed high growth every year, including ￦41.5 billion in 2017, ￦61.2 billion in 2018, and ￦81 billion in 2019. Last year, it ranked second in outpatient prescriptions among all drugs. Hanmi secured the right to use Ezetimibe from MSD, the patent holder, and entered the market ahead of competitors, gaining an opportunity to preoccupy the market. Considering the recent growth trend, it is also strong to exceed ￦100 billion in prescriptions this year. Yuhan, HK inno.N, and Daewoong showed remarkable growth in the Rosuvastatin-Ezetimibe markets. Yuhan's Rosuvamibe recorded a prescription amount of ￦54 billion last year. In 2019, it rose 19.0% from ￦45.4 billion, exceeding ￦50 billion. After recording a prescription amount of ￦7.2 billion in the first year of its release in 2016, Rosuvamibe has expanded its market influence every year, including ￦23.7 billion in 2017 and ￦35.4 billion in 2018. HK inno.N's Rovazet recorded sales of ￦24.5 billion, up 17.1% from the previous year, and Daewoong's Crezet rose 35.2% from the previous year with a prescription performance of ￦19.8 billion last year. In October of last year, Chong Kun Dang's self-developed Atorvastatin-Ezetimibe combination drug Lipilouzet was approved. 22 companies have been approved for the commissioned generic of Lipilouzet. About 20 companies are preparing for Atojet's generic license.
- Company
- Yuhan’s Leclaza zooms through the NHI listing process
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Jan 26, 2021 06:00am
- Yuhan Corporation’s new drug Leclaza could break the record of receiving the National Health Insurance reimbursement the fastest as an anticancer treatment. After the South Korean health authority approved of the drug on Jan. 18, the company immediately entered a talk to list the drug. The pharmaceutical industry source reported the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) Cancer Deliberation Committee is to deliberate Leclaza (lazertinib), a third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) like Tagrisso (osimertinib), from next month. Yuhan Corporation is rushing through the commercialization process by fully utilizing the conditional approval and the approval-reimbursement linkage system. Leclaza was cleared for marketing in South Korea on Jan. 18. If the Cancer Deliberation Committee reviews the drug in the February meeting, the drug would be taking only a month to reach a reimbursement review. Generally, a novel anticancer treatment takes about four to five months to be deliberated by the Cancer Deliberation Committee after applying for the reimbursement. Considering the typical speed of the listing procedure, the 31st Korean-made new drug Leclaza may set the historic record of passing the Drug Reimbursement Evaluation Committee after the Cancer Deliberation Committee, settling a drug pricing and listing itself for the reimbursement. The related academic society also seems to be supporting for the Leclaza coverage. The Korean Association for Lung Cancer submitted a statement to urge for the healthcare benefit on Leclaza. The society claimed, “The National Health Insurance reimbursement should be granted on lazertinib, as it has demonstrated acceptable level of safety and low cardiac toxicity, and also the treatment is highly demanded by the patients to fight against a severe disease.“ Leclaza was approved as a first-in-class second-line treatment in EGFR T790M mutation-positive patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), who has been treated with EGFR-TKI previously. The drug approval was cleared based on the Phase II clinical trial (therapeutic exploratory trial) outcomes conducted in South Korea, but with a condition to conduct a post-marketing Phase III trial (therapeutic confirmatory trial).
- Company
- Antidiabetic DPP-4 inhibitor breaks record of KRW 600 bn
- by Kim, Jin-Gu Jan 26, 2021 06:00am
- The outpatient prescription volume of antidiabetic dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors exceeded over 600 billion won for the first time in the history. The market is steadfastly growing with about 6 percent surge from last year. The experts hint the oral antidiabetic drug market was the key to the growth. The sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor market is constantly and exponentially expanding with Forxiga and Jardiance. The last year’s prescription volume grew 29 percent from the year before and marked 121.4 billion won. ◆DPP-4 inhibitor market volume expands by 6 percent and hits 602.4 billion won According to a pharmaceutical market research firm UBIST on Jan. 21, total 602.4 billion won worth of DPP-4 inhibitor single and combination drugs were prescribed last year and surpassed the 600 billion won line for the first time. The DPP-4 inhibiting antidiabetics became the major player in the market since the MSD’s Januvia launched in 2007 as it rose above sulfonylurea (SU) and thiazolidinedione (TZD). Apparently, the drug group dominates more than half of the oral antidiabetics market. And the market is ceaselessly growing. In last six years, the market volume surged from 358 billion won in 2015 to 440.8 billion won in 2016, 493.4 billion won in 2017, 543.1 billion won in 2018, 568.7 billion won and 602.4 billion won in 2020 showing growth of 23 percent, 12 percent, 10 percent, 5 percent and 6 percent, respectively. ◆Januvia and Trajenta lead the market, while Zemiglo, Tenelia and Suganon leap Sorting by company, MSD and Boehringer Ingelheim are still leading the market. MSD’s Januvia series (Januvia and Janumet) grew 5 percent from 168.2 billion won in 2019 to 176.2 billion won last year. Boehringer Ingelheim’s Trajenta series grew by 4 percent and hit 128.9 billion won. Also, the prescription volume of LG Chem’s Zemiglo series (Zemiglo, Zemimet) soared. From 100.4 billion won in 2019, the volume skyrocketed to 115.8 billion won with a 15-percent jump. The gap with the market’s second best-selling Trajenta series was narrowed from 58.6 billion won in 2016 to 13.1 billion won last year. Besides the Zemiglo series, Handok’s Tenelia series (Tenelia, Tenelia M) and Dong-A ST’s Suganon series (Suganon, Sugamet) were prescribed significantly more last year. The Tenelia series generated 42.5 billion won with a 14-percent surge, whereas the Suganon series made 24.5 billion won with a 51-percent surge. On the contrary, the prescription volumes of Novartis’ Galvus series (Galvus, Galvus Met) and Takeda Pharmaceutical’s Nesina series (Nesina, Nesina Act, Nesina Met) and JW Pharmaceutical’s Guardlet series (Guardlet, Guardmet) dipped last year compared to the year before. The Galvus series made 44.5 billion won, the Nesina series made 32.1 billion won and the Guardlet series made 10.3 billion won with a 4-percent, 9-percent and 27-percent drop, respectively. ◆SGLT-2 inhibitors broke through 100 billion won, 29 percent growth propelled by Forxiga and Jardiance The SGLT-2 inhibitor market, for the first time in the history, exceeded the 100 billion won line. Since the launch of AstraZeneca’s Forxiga in 2014, Boehringer Ingelheim and MSD joined the race to drive the rapid growth in the market. The market volume at 12.2 billion won in 2015 grew to 24.5 billion won in 2016, 33.3 billion won in 2017, 42.8 billion won in 2018, 53.1 billion in 2019 and 121.4 billion won in 2020, showing the growth of 131 percent, 75 percent, 40 percent, 34 percent and 29 percent, respectively. The growth rate is decreasing as time passes, but it is still strong at almost 30 percent. The Forxiga series (Forxiga. Xigduo) and the Jardiance series (Jardiance, Jardiance Duo) are firmly leading the market. Forxiga made 64.8 billion won last year, marking a 22-percent growth from 53.1 billion won in 2019. In the mean time, the Jardiance series grew 40 percent from 36.6 billion won to 51.1 billion won. On the other hand, MSD and Astellas are demonstrating underwhelming performances. Astellas’ Suglat generated 3.3 billion won, when MSD’s Steglatro made 2.3 billion won. The two drugs combined do not even take up 5 percent of the market share. ◆Combination drug is ‘in,’ towering over single drug growths in both DPP-4 and SGLT-2 inhibitor markets When most of the drugs combined with metformin performed notably well, the single agent drugs’ growths were sluggish or brought down. The source reported the phenomenon was apparent in both DPP-4 inhibitor and SGLT-2 inhibitor markets. For instance, MSD’s Januvia series saw a single agent drug Januvia’s prescription volume increasing only by 1 percent from 46.5 billion won to 47 billion won. But a combination drug Janumet’s volume grew by 6 percent from 121.7 billion won to 129.1 billion won. Also Trajenta single agent drug’s prescription volume showed almost no growth, whereas the combination drug grew by 8 percent from 62.4 billion won to 67.2 billion won. The situations were similar with Zemiglo (5 percent) and Zemimet (21 percent), Tenelia (11 percent) and Tenelia M (16 percent), Suganon (43 percent) and Sugamet (57 percent) and Onglyza (0 percent) and Kombiglyze (4 percent). Meanwhile, Guardmet and Nesinamet’s prescription volume plummeted compared to their single drugs. But an external factor seems to have caused it. Apparently, the manufacturing and sales of Guardmet were shut off last year due to N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), suspected as a cancerous substance, found in metformin used in the drug. Nesinamet had an issue with the supply from February last year. SGLT-2 inhibitor market also witnessed prominent growth by combination drugs. When Forxiga’s prescription volume grew by 11 percent, a combination drug with metformin Xigduo grew by 39 percent. A single agent drug Jardiance grew by 21 percent, when a combination drug Jardiance Duo skyrocketed by 117 percent.
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- KRW 15M incentive to employees assigned to Organon
- by Jan 25, 2021 06:21am
- MSD Korea has promised to pay out an incentive of 15 million won and maintain the employee benefits for those who were notified to be transferred to a new subsidiary, Organon Korea. A pharmaceutical industry source reported today that MSD Korea has signed an agreement with the labor union on Jan. 22 after a long negotiation. First, MSD Korea has decided to provide an incentive of 15 million won to employees reassigned to Organon as a token of acknowledgement of their contribution to the company so far and encouragement for their new beginning. Moreover, Organon Korea would adopt the same employment relationship and condition as MSD Korea’s and ensure the job security for the labor union members transitioning to the new subsidiary. And when the employment condition is to change, they have agreed to actively engagement in communication. Especially, if the condition were to be revised in more disadvantageous ways for the employees, the management would require a consensus from the labor union with a majority of employees. In case of Organon Korea offering an early retirement proposal (ERP), the management has clarified to not forcefully demand the employee to take the offer against the expression of intention by the union. And for employees signing a salary agreement for two years (2021-2022) before coming June, the raise would be applied not only for in MSD Korea, but also for in Organon Korea. The Organon Korea management would also have to notify the labor union 60 days prior and sincerely negotiation for settlement, if it intends to split or merge the company, or sell off a part of or the whole of a business. Taking an example of the previous Pfizer case, where it split and sold off a business to merge with another company, Organon has agreed to notify and negotiate with the labor union before the final action. Also, MSD Korea, Organon Korea and MSD Korea Labor Union swore to mutually cooperate during the process of corporate split-off or employment relations and condition settlement. And they clarified the labor union members would not be discriminated. The latest agreement would affect the remedy requested for the unfair transfer in last December. Resisting against the transfer ordered without consent, the MSD Korea Labor Union filed a remedy for unfair transfer to the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission. Meanwhile, Organon Korea is to kick off from next month with Senior Director Kim So-eun as the first CEO.
- Company
- Evenity can be prescribed at general hospitals
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Jan 25, 2021 06:21am
- According to related industries, Amgen's bone formation promotion and bone resorption inhibitor Evenity (Romosozumab) has so far been prescribed in Big 5 general hospitals such as SMC, SNUH, Seoul St. hospital, AMC, and Shinchon Severance Hospital, and has passed the drug commitee (DC) of about 30 medical institutions such as Gangnam Severance Hospital, Pusan National University Hospital, Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, and Hanyang University Hospital. Amgen submitted an application for registration about one year after Evenity's domestic approval in May 2019, and was recognized for the adequacy of benefits from the HIRA's Pharmaceutical Benefit Advisory Committee in September. The approved indications are ▲treatment of postmenopausal female osteoporosis patients at high risk of fracture, and ▲higher bone density of male osteoporosis patients at high fracture risk. However, the benefit was limited to patients who were unable to use or were unable to use one or more of the bisphophonate drugs (although new fractures occurred despite sufficient administration for more than 1 year). The duration of administration is limited to a total of 12 times at intervals of one month from a lifetime, and when the bone density test is performed after the administration of the drug and the same or improvement compared to the baseline value is confirmed, the administration to a bone resorption inhibitor is permitted. However, as the registration process for new osteoporosis drugs in Korea was not easy, the registration of Evenity is encouraging. In the case of Forsteo (Teriparatide)', it took 10 years to register after approval. Professor Deok-yoon Kim of the Department of Endocrinology at Kyung Hee University Hospital said, "It is important to lower the risk of fracture with powerful drugs such as Evenity from the beginning of treatment for the ultra-high risk group for osteoporosis fracture. The application of Evenity is expected to enable customized treatment for the ultra-high risk group." The effectiveness of Evenity was confirmed through a phase 3 study FRAME and ARCH study, and a phase 3 clinical BRIDGE study in men with osteoporosis. Through FRAME, a placebo-controlled phase 3 clinical trial, Evenity showed the effect of lowering the risk of vertebral fracture in postmenopausal female patients with a high risk of fracture from -2.5 to -3.5 in anterior hip or femoral neck bone density T-score. In ARCH, an Alendronate-controlled phase 3 clinical trial, Evenity demonstrated superior preventive effects in both vertebral and clinical fractures compared to Alendronate in postmenopausal female patients with osteoporosis and fragile fractures. In the group that switched to Alendronate after 1 year of Evenity treatment, the risk of new vertebral fractures was reduced by 50% at 24 months compared to the continuous Alendronate group.
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- KanghanLaw scouted Adviser Jaehong Kwon from BMS Korea
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Jan 25, 2021 06:21am
- Advisor Jaehong KwonKanghanLaw hired Jaehong Kwon (60 yrs old), an advisor from BMS, a multinational pharmaceutical company. According to the industry, former chief executive Jaehong Kwon, who retired from Korea BMS in August last year, officially joined KanghanLaw on January 1st. Adviser Kwon is an industry veteran with 34 years of experience who joined JW Pharma in 1986 and has worked at BMS Korea since 1998. KanghanLaw is planning to strengthen his expertise in the healthcare field with the recruitment of Advisor Kwon. He has been in charge of registering insurance benefits for new drugs such as 'Plavix','Baraclude', and 'Sprycel' as an expert in the pharmaceutical industry policy (GA, Government Affairs) and drug price (MA, Market Access) work. KanghanLaw is a law firm specialized in the field of health and welfare. This law firm has experienced attorneys, professional groups from health insurance companies such as The HIRA, BMS Korea, and global pharmaceutical companies, and Jooseong Kang, former president of the Health Right Network.
- Company
- ↑sales of chronic disease drugs & ↓sales of antibiotics
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Jan 22, 2021 06:28am
- Despite COVID-19 epidemic, the chronic disease treatment market continued to grow. The market for antibiotics and expectorants declined significantly due to the decrease in cold patients due to strengthening hygiene management. According to UBIST, a drug research institute on the 19th, the prescription amount of statin drugs used to treat dyslipidemia last year was ₩1 trillion, an increase of 3.4% from the previous year. The prescription amount in 2019 was ₩976.5 billion won, an increase of 2.9% from the previous year, but the growth rate was higher last year. Statin sales increase every year. In 2017 and 2018, prescriptions increased 4.1% and 6.1% respectively from the previous year. Last year, it surpassed ₩1 trillion for the first time, continuing the growth trend, even though external activities of people were greatly reduced due to the aftermath of COVID-19. In the major chronic disease treatment prescription market, which forms a large market, there was little impact on COVID-19. The combination of calcium channel blocker (CCB) and angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB), which are the most commonly used treatments for hypertension, recorded ₩811.3 billion in prescriptions last year, up 10.1% from the previous year. In 2019, it recorded an even greater growth rate than the prescription price growth rate of 6.9%. ARB+CCB combination drug prescription performance also increased 11.8% and 13.2% in 2017 and 2018 compared to the previous year, respectively. Last year, even in COVID-19 situation throughout the year, it continued high growth. The Lipid-regulating drugs, which have recently been increasing in demand, remained strong. Last year, the prescription size of the lipid-regulator combination drug was ₩633.5 billion, an increase of 21.0% from the previous year. The prescription market for lipid-regulating drugs increased by 10.2% and 15.1%, respectively, compared to the previous year in 2018 and 2019, but last year the growth trend was even steeper. In recent years, Rosuvastatin or Atorvastatin combined with Ezetimibe has continued to rise as preference for drugs has increased. The sales for the combination of DPP-4·Metformin, which is used as an ARB single drug or diabetes treatment, also rose. Last year, the market size of ARB single drug was ₩401.2 billion, an increase of 3.9% from the previous year, and DPP-4·Metformin combination drug increased 1.2%. In the industry, the use of medicines continues to increase due to the increase in the elderly population and the number of chronic diseases, so it is diagnosed that the entire industry will not contract due to short-term issues such as infectious diseases. Unlike the tourism and cultural industries, which fell into extreme crises after COVID-19 outbreak, the pharmaceutical industry is unlikely to lead to a sudden downturn because it is affected by the demands of patients rather than the external environment. The entire prescription market last year maintained a growth trend, while the chronic disease treatment market, which has a large prescription, was not affected by COVID-19. Last year, the total outpatient prescription amount was ₩14.85 trillion, up 0.2% from the previous year. Compared to the previous year, the growth trend has slowed somewhat, but it is evaluated that it has made good progress considering the big bad news of COVID-19. The slowdown in the growth of the entire prescription market can be found in the decline in sales of infectious diseases treatments such as antibiotics and expectorants. The prescription performance of oral Cephalosporins last year was ₩209.9 billion, down 20.6% from 2018. For oral Cephalosporins, the prescription amount in 2019 fell 1.5% from the previous year, but last year the decline has expanded significantly. Sales of oral Penicillin recorded ₩116.9 billion last year, down 34.9% from the previous year. In 2019, it fell 4.5% from the previous year, but last year, the total prescription size decreased by about a third. The size of prescriptions for expectorant drugs, which are widely used in pediatric patients, has also decreased significantly. Last year, the prescription for expectorant drugs was ₩124.8 billion, a 29.6% decrease from the previous year. The slowdown in the prescription market for antibiotics and expectorants is evaluated to be closely related to the decline in the number of patients. It is analyzed that after the spread of COVID-19, external activities contracted and personal hygiene management such as hand washing and wearing of masks was strengthened, leading to a decline in the incidence of infectious diseases such as colds.
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- The sales of flu treatment fell 99.6% due to COVID-19
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Jan 22, 2021 06:26am
- Last year, sales of influenza drugs fell more than 60% from the previous year. The prescription of Tamiflu, the most commonly used, has dropped sharply. In the fourth quarter of last year, the season of full-fledged flu, prescriptions for Tamiflu and generics decreased by more than 99%. As the number of flu patients sharply declined due to reinforced hygiene management following the spread of the new COVID-19, the market for treatments also shrank. According to the drug research institute UBIST on the 21st, the amount of outpatient prescriptions for flu treatments last year was ₩8.4 billion, a 61.8% decrease from the previous year. It has shrunk from ₩44.7 billion in 2019 to one-fifth in two years. This is the change in the prescription market due to the spread of COVID-19. After the COVID-19 epidemic, external activities contracted, and personal hygiene management such as hand washing and wearing of masks strengthened, greatly reducing the number of flu patients, and the market for treatments decreased. Sales of Tamiflu, the most used flu treatment drug, declined significantly. Last year, the outpatient prescription amount of Oseltamivir was ₩6.7 billion, down 60.2% from the previous year. It decreased by more than 80% in two years from ₩33.8 billion in 2018. Oseltamivir is the active ingredient of Tamiflu. Influenza drugs, including Tamiflu, are usually prescribed in the first and fourth quarters of the flu epidemic. In the first quarter of last year, the prescription amount of Oseltamivir was ₩6.7 billion, an increase of 20.4% from the previous year. Although the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 occurred on January 20 of last year, the flu treatment market was not significantly affected in the first quarter as the epidemic began in earnest after February. However, even though the flu season began in earnest in the fourth quarter of last year, Oseltamivir prescriptions were less than ₩100 million. It decreased by 99.6% from ₩5.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019 to ₩20 million in the fourth quarter of last year. As COVID-19 pandemic continues throughout the year, the flu treatment market has virtually disappeared. According to the KCDA, the number of suspected flu patients per 1,000 outpatients in December last year (weeks 49 to 52) was 2. 2.8 people at week 49, 2.8 people at week 50, 2.8 people at week 51, and 2.5 people at week 52, never exceeding 3 people. Compared to 2019, 19.5 people at 49 weeks, 28.5 people at 50 weeks, 37.8 people at 51 weeks, 49.8 people at 52 weeks , the flu patients rarely occurred. The prescription cost for all Oseltamivir products decreased significantly. Tamiflu's prescription amount last year was ₩2.8 billion, down 56.0% from the previous year. Tamiflu's prescription performance in the fourth quarter of last year was ₩23 million, down to 1% of ₩2.3 billion a year earlier. Sales of Hanmi Flu amounted to ₩1.6 billion last year, down 68.0% from 2019. Hanmi Flu recorded a prescription amount of ₩1.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019, but was only around ₩1 million in the fourth quarter of last year.
