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- 2026-03-18 17:36:35
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- Pharmaceuticals' dilemma over the possibility of level 3
- by Kim, Jin-Gu Dec 17, 2020 06:11am
- While the government is considering level 3 of social distancing, the pharmaceutical industry is also taking countermeasures. Even if level 3 of social distancing are fully implemented, most of them maintain the flexible working system as they are now. However, internal discussions on the scope of essential manpower are in full swing in that it is an administrative order to work from home except for the mandatory manpower. ◆Executive order to work from home except for required manpower when upgrading to level 3 According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 14th, as of midnight on that day, the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases was 718. It decreased by 312 from 1030 the previous day. The number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Korea exceeded 1,000 on the 13th as the third pandemic began in earnest. The government expects the number of confirmed cases to increase to 1200 in the future. The government recognizes the current situation as the biggest crisis since the outbreak of COVID-19. As a final method, level 3 is also being considered. Level 3 of social distancing is upgraded when the weekly average number of confirmed patients is 800-1000 or more. President Moon Jae-in said at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting urgently presided on the 13th, "If we can't break the spread now, we need to review level 3. If Central Disease Control Headquarters believes it is inevitable, then boldly decide to (upgrade)." The pharmaceutical industry is also tense in that an executive order is issued to allow private companies to work from home if the social distancing level is elevated. Looking at the government's step-by-step measures, in level 2.5, the recommendation to work from home for more than a third of the number of employees is reinforced to mandatory work from home outside of the required manpower. However, it is up to the company to decide how to set up the required manpower. The number of COVID-19 confirmed patients per day. With the recent surpassing 1,000, the possibility of level 3 is increasing (Source: Johns Hopkins) ◆Even now, only essential personnel are on the way to work The pharmaceutical industry is very nervous with government announcements. The whole society is in 'shutdown' situation. Officials on the front line are concentrating on preparing countermeasures while checking the government announcement in real time. However, they are contemplating what specific measures to take. Most pharmaceutical companies are already taking steps similar to level 3. Even now, when level 2.5 is being applied, the rest of the workforce is working from home, except for the required manpower, so there is little to do when the social distancing into three stages is upgraded. Accordingly, pharmaceutical companies are discussing the scope of mandatory manpower. If the required manpower was previously team leader and a few team members, when the social distancing is upgraded, it is reduced to only team leader. A representative of a domestic pharmaceutical company said, "The current company's official guidelines are Only essential personnel go to work, but in fact, the team is divided into two groups or three groups to go to work every other day. If it is upgraded to level 3, only the team leader goes to work. He expects the rest to go to work only in very urgent cases under the judgment of the team leader. Another domestic pharmaceutical company official said, "Before the implementation of level 2.5, we have been selectively working from home. Even if it is reinforced to level 3, it is not expected that the company will decide whether to go to work or stay at home according to the position or job group. Under the conditions, it is decided whether to work from home, but each team leader will select the required manpower based on a tighter standard." “We are preparing separate guidelines at the company. The overall direction is the same. We freely decide to go to work and home in consideration of personal circumstances and work environment. However, in case of upgrading to level 3, working from home is given priority.” If it is upgraded to level 3, most salespeople are expected to convert to telecommuting ◆Production workers are inevitable However, in the case of production workers, they are essential workers, so even if they are upgraded to level 3, it is impossible to work from home. another official from a domestic pharmaceutical company, said, "If the company is upgraded to level 3, all sales workers will be converted to telecommuting. Researchers will also participate in telecommuting, leaving only a small number of personnel." “In the case of production workers, it takes a month or two to restart even if the factory stops operating for one day. In the case of production workers, it will inevitably continue to work. However, measures such as changing from the current three shifts to two shifts are under discussion." Some say that even if it is upgraded to level 3, it will remain the same as the present. Mr. E, an official at a domestic pharmaceutical company, said, “It is already common to work from home. All sales workers are at home, and all employees in the rest of the field come to work. It is difficult to further reduce the required manpower.” Another domestic company official, Mr. F, said, "Officially, under the judgment of the manager, only essential personnel are instructed to go to work. However, almost all of the employees are present. Therefore, even if the level is raised to 3, the manager judges everyone as essential personnel. If so, nothing will change from now.”
- Company
- The CEOs of eight multinational companies were replaced
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Dec 16, 2020 02:08pm
- From the top left, CEOs of Oh Dong-wook, Kim Youn-hee, Choi Ho-jin, Kim So-eun, Kim Woo-gyu, Lee Hye-young, Kevin Peters, and Rob Kempton Eight multinational pharmaceutical companies have appointed new CEOs during this year On the 14th, Dailypharm collected the current status of CEOs of major multinational companies in Korea, including 31 Korea Global Pharmaceutical Industry Associations (KRPIA) (currently). As a result, 8 pharmaceutical companies replaced or appointed new CEOs. Although there were regular personnel executions due to the expiration of the term, there were also personnel measures due to separate issues such as merger and corporate division. The foreign head of the three pharmaceutical companies left. The KRPIA is represented by Dong-wook Oh, President of Pfizer Korea, instead of Avi BenShoshan, former CEO of MSD Korea. As of October, Galderma Korea appointed CEO Kim Youn-hee and changed the system to a Korean president again in about two years after Park Heung-beom resigned. Rene Wipperich, former CEO of Galderma Korea for two years from September 2018, moved to a Swiss subsidiary. Current status of CEOs of major multinational pharmaceutical companiesMerck, which has maintained a foreign system since the inauguration of the Korean subsidiary, appointed Kim Woo-gyu in September. He received his Ph.D from the University of Delaware in the United States and was appointed as a Korean subsidiary after serving as the head of the Performance Materials division at the German headquarters of the Merck Group in 1997. Ono Pharma Korea, which has been replaced in about a year, continues the Korean system by appointing former Vice President Choi Ho-jin as CEO along with the retirement of former CEO Min-yeol Yang. Ono Pharma Korea was managed by former CEO Takashi Kishi, who was appointed former CEO Yang. There is also news of the appointment of the head of a new corporation to be launched due to the division of the corporation. Viatris, which had been maintained under the name of Pfizer Upjohn, which was created through the corporate division of Pfizer, was officially launched and appointed Lee Hye-young as the first CEO. CEO Lee was in charge of Pfizer's patent expiration division. In the case of MSD, the official term of office began next year and was not reflected in the count, but Organon, which is spun off from MSD, was also appointed by Kim So-eun as the head of the first Korean subsidiary. Executive Director Kim will lead Organon from February next year. MSD and GSK's Korean subsidiaries continue to be foreign CEOs. MSD appoints Kevin Peters from a Thai subsidiary, and GSK's new president, Rob Kempton, takes over as Julien Samson moves to the headquarters. Mundipharma appointed Choi Heon and Astellas appointed Weber Markus as the new president. The proportion of Koreans among CEOs of multinational companies was 70%, a slight increase from the previous year (66%). In addition, the proportion of female CEOs fell 5% to 25%.
- Company
- Prevymis by MSD is prescribed at Big 5 General Hospitals
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Dec 16, 2020 06:14am
- Prevymis, which is used to prevent cytomegalovirus infection in patients with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, can be prescribed at general hospitals. According to related industries, Prevymis (Letermovir), a prophylactic treatment for cytomegalo virus (CMV) infection in patients with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, is known as Seoul National University Hospital, Sinchon Severance Hospital, Samsung Medical Center, Asan Medical Center, and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. It passed the drug commitee (DC) of the general hospitals. Prevymis has been listed since last October, being evaluated as clinically useful and cost-effective than conventional non-prevention cases. As prescription codes were created in major hospitals, Prevymis will be precribed in earnest in the future. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is essential for the cure of severe blood cancer patients such as acute myelogenous leukemia and acute lymphocytic leukemia. As a policy to strengthen health insurance coverage, the government changed the age limit for recognizing hematopoietic stem cell transplants in 2019 from under 65 years old to under 70 years old. Even if the tissue-appropriate antigens in the transplant's family are only partially matched, efforts have been made to revitalize transplantation and reduce costs by recognizing the first allograft as a benefit in the absence of a suitable donor. When cytomegalovirus (CMV) is reactivated in patients with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, diseases such as pneumonia, hepatitis, myocarditis, gastroenteritis, and encephalitis develop. Even low levels of CMV in the blood have an effect on increased mortality. In the case of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients with CMV infection, the mortality rate during initial hospitalization increased by 3.5 times compared to those without infection, and the risk of death was reported to be 2.6 times higher in patients with CMV viremia at the initial stage of transplantation (within 60 days). However, the current CMV treatment of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients relies on pre-emptive treatment of antiviral drugs when the virus concentration in the blood exceeds a certain level. Prevymis has been clinically proven to inhibit CMV reactivation and reduce mortality. In addition, no adverse reactions related to myelotoxicity and nephrotoxicity occurred. In the 2019 guidelines of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and the European Conference on Infections on Leukemia (ECIL), Prevymis is a prophylactic drug for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients with CMV seropositivity.
- Company
- AbbVie expands autoimmune disease drug line-up fast
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Dec 15, 2020 06:04am
- AbbVie is quickly lining up next cash cows after Humira. Especially, the company’s speed of new drug reimbursement listing for the South Korean market has impressed the industry. The multinational company only took about six months and five months for an interleukin-23 (IL-23) inhibitor Skyrizi (risankizumab) and a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor Rinvoq (upadacitinib), respectively, from the approval by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) to reimbursement listing. Skyrizi and Rinvoq were green lit late last year and June, and listed in June and November, respectively. As two drugs are third to fourth drugs to be approved in their respective classes, AbbVie fully utilized the approval-listing linkage system, and accepted the weighted average pricing of other alternative options to expedite the listing process. Also when the company launched the hepatitis type C treatments Mavyret (glecaprevir-pibrentasvir), AbbVie targeted the listing first and started expanding the market presence fast. Both an IL inhibitor and a JAK inhibitor are the most anticipated treatment option for autoimmune diseases since the release of a tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitor. While Humira (adalimumab) is leading the particular market, AbbVie seems to have sped up the listing process to minimize the handicap in follow-on drug. The future competition in the market is expected to intensify regardless of the sluggish growth in existing options with slightly different indications the two drugs have. An industry insider commented, “Surely, the quick judgment call by AbbVie Korea was impressive. With the complication of being a follow-on drug, the company could have taken more time to set the strategy based on the differences in indications, detailed mechanism and clinical protocol.” Meanwhile, Skyrizi is indicated to treat adults with moderate to severe plague psoriasis, who need UVB phototherapy or systematic therapy (including biologic therapy). The UltIMMa-1 and UltIMMa-2 studies, which the approval was based on, found patients using Skyrizi have significantly improved their skin condition at week 16. And most of the patients—82 percent and 81 percent—reached Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) 90, and many of the patients—56 percent and 60 percent—had completely improved skin after a year (52 weeks). Rinvoq has confirmed its treatment effect in 4,443 patients with severe level of active rheumatoid arthritis through five Phase III SELECT trials (SELECT-NEXT, SELECT-BEYOND, SELECT-MONOTHERAPY, SELECT-COMPARE and SELECT-EARLY). The result found using Rinvoq alone or with conventional synthetic DMARD (csCMARD) showed lower disease activity and improved remission rate, compared to using a placebo, methotrexate or Humira.
- Company
- Evenity, customized for patients with high risk of fracture
- by Dec 15, 2020 06:03am
- As Amgen's new osteoporosis treatment, Evenity (Romosozumab) was applied from this month, it could be used more by patients. In particular, Evenity, which has proven its strong efficacy in patients with high risk of fracture, may be useful. On the 10th, Amgen held an online meeting to commemorate the launch of Evenity insurance benefits, and announced Evenity's treatment strategy in the ultra-high risk group for osteoporosis fractures. Amgen's new osteoporosis treatment, Evenity (Romosozumab) was approved in May of last year as a treatment for postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at high fracture risk and for increasing bone density in men with osteoporosis at high risk of fracture. Benefits for Evenity have been applied since the 1st. This is when all are satisfied among patients who do not have an effect on or cannot use existing bisphosphonates ▲postmenopausal women over 65 years old ▲Bone density test result measured by dual energy radiation absorption measurement at the central bone T-score -2.5 SD or less ▲Among conditions with two or more osteoporotic fractures. Patients who satisfy this condition can receive benefits once a month, up to one year. Professor Kim Deok-yoon of the Department of Endocrinology at Kyunghee University Hospital announced on this day 'the latest knowledge of osteoporotic fracture treatment and customized treatment strategies for ultra-high-risk patients'. He said, "One in three hip fracture patients cannot walk without help for two years, and one in four dies within 12 months." Kim Deok-yoon, Professor of Endocrinology and Internal Medicine, Kyung Hee University Hospital For this reason, the latest guidelines recommend that patients in these ultra-high risk groups reduce the risk of fracture through strong drug treatment. Evenity can play a useful role as it has the effect of inhibiting bone resorption in addition to existing bone formation promoting agents. If the bone density is the same or improved after 1 year of treatment with Evenity, treatment can be continued with another bone resorption inhibitor. He said, "It is important to lower the risk of fracture with strong drugs such as Evenity from the beginning of treatment for the ultra-high-risk group of osteoporosis fracture. From this month, it is expected that customized treatment for the ultra-high-risk group will be possible with the application of Evenity." He added, "It is the norm to use bone formation promoting agents first in the treatment of patients in ultra-high-risk patients, and then follow-up treatment with bone resorption inhibitors." Amgen believes that Denosumab could serve as a follow-up treatment after Evenity. He agreed that "Romosozumab-Denosumab treatment will be the best combination. In fact, this combination should be used to quickly get out of the risk of fracture." However, he was disappointed by the limited benefit standards. He said that Evenity was considered a very useful drug for patients with super-risk patients, and since last May, he thought that even a non-reimbursed drug should be used and it would be very welcome that Evenity became a reimbursed drug this time. Sang-yoon Kim, managing director of marketing at Amgen Korea's General Medison Division, said, "We will try to establish Evenity as a standard treatment for people at high risk of fractures. And, we will work on long-term osteoporosis treatment strategies ranging from Evenity, which is effective for strong initial treatment to Prolia, suitable for continuous treatment in Korea. I will actively seek out with the medical staff.”
- Company
- The market for erectile dysfunction drugs is on the rise
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Dec 15, 2020 06:03am
- The market for erectile dysfunction treatments is recovering. The market size contracted in the aftermath of COVID-19 in the first half, but it rebounded in the third quarter. Generic for Cialis have been largely succeeful. According to IQVIA, a drug research institute on the 10th, the market for erectile dysfunction treatments in the third quarter was ₩28.6 billion, up 1.1% year-on-year. The market for erectile dysfunction drugs declined 4.8% and 0.4%, respectively, compared to the previous year in the first and second quarters, but turned to an upward trend in the third quarter. Quarterly erectile dysfunction treatment market size (Unit: ₩million, Source: IQVIA) The market for erectile dysfunction treatments showed stable growth every year, but turned downward in the first half of this year. The contraction of the erectile dysfunction treatment market in the first half is analyzed as the aftermath of COVID-19. The industry says that the erectile dysfunction treatment market is vulnerable to external factors such as the epidemic of infectious diseases because the severity is lower than that of chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes and it is not essential. There is still low recognition that erectile dysfunction is a disease that needs to be treated urgently, which means that changes in the external environment can affect the market growth. Compared to the early days of the spread of COVID-19, the market for erectile dysfunction treatments seems to have recovered as well as people's social activities have become similar to the past. Most of the major leading products were sluggish. Hanmi's PalPal recorded total sales of ₩15.7 billion in the third quarter. PalPal is a generic for Viagra. PalPal accounts for 18.9% of the total erectile dysfunction treatment market. However, the sales volume declined 4.6% compared to last year, and the growth slowed. Cialis’ generic, Cendom by Chong Kun Dang, ranked second place with cumulative sales of ₩7.5 billion in the third quarter, but sales decreased by 3.2% from the previous year. Sales of major erectile dysfunction drugs by item (Unit: ₩million, %, Source: IQVIA) The original drugs were even more sluggish. Pfizer's Viagra recorded sales of ₩6.4 billion, down 10.7% from the previous year, and Lilly's Cialis, with cumulative sales of ₩4.6 billion, down 4.6% from the same period last year. The cumulative sales of Hanmi’s Gugu in the third quarter rose 13.3% from the previous year to ₩5.8 billion. Kolmar Korea's Kamalafil (generic for Cialis) recorded a growth rate of 20.7%.
- Company
- Pfizer's Xeljanz XR (once a day), approved in Korea
- by Dec 14, 2020 05:58am
- Pfizer Korea (CEO Dong-wook Oh) announced on the 10th that it has received approval for Xeljanz XR 11 mg, a rheumatoid arthritis treatment, from the MFDS on the 7th. Xeljanz XR is a sustained-release tablet formulation of the existing Xeljanz 5mg (Tofacitinib). It can be used for the treatment of moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis in adults who do not respond adequately to MTX or are not tolerated. Xeljanz, an oral JAK inhibitor, inhibits the JAK signaling pathway (Jak-STAT pathway), which is involved in the production of cytokines that cause inflammation in the body. Following the US in 2012, it was approved in Korea as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis in 2014. Since then, the indication has been expanded to treatment for ulcerative colitis and psoriatic arthritis. The domestic approval of Xeljanz XR is limited to the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, and indications for psoriatic arthritis and ulcerative colitis are not applicable. Xeljanz 5mg was taken twice a day when treating rheumatoid arthritis in Korea, but it became possible to take it once a day with Xeljanz XR. Xeljanz XR can be used in combination with MTX or taken alone, which will further increase options for patients and healthcare professionals. Hee-yeon Kim, Managing Director of Pfizer's Inflammation and Immunity Division, said, "We are very pleased that Xeljanz, which has pioneered the domestic JAK inhibitor market as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, can provide more diverse treatment options." "We will continue to strive to provide excellent treatment options to patients and to make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients."
- Company
- Bavencio, difficulty in expanding indication
- by Dec 11, 2020 06:16am
- The possibility of approval for a renal cell carcinoma indication for Bavencio(Avelumab), an immunotherapy developed by Merck and Pfizer, is very low. This is because the Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Review Committee of the MFDS has not recognized Bavencio's therapeutic effect. The Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Review Committee held a meeting on October 29th, when Merck and Pfizer applied for Bavencio's indications for renal cell carcinoma, and whether the results of the clinical trials submitted were recognized as the agenda. According to the results of the minutes released on the 9th, none of the six members who attended the meeting did not acknowledge the validity of Bavencio. The committee members were cited on the basis of the existence of alternatives such as ▲not meeting the primary endpoint (OS) ▲alternative treatment and follow-up treatment. One member said, "We believe it is reasonable not to approve the permit because Bavencio's OS results have not been met." He said, "The risk ratio of 0.79, which is the result of an interim analysis of overall survival (OS), is judged to be a clinically insignificant result. This is 'JAVELIN Renal 101' study comparing the combination therapy of Bavencio and VEGF-based targeted anticancer drug Inlyta (Axitinib) with Sutene (Sunitinib) monotherapy, a standard treatment for renal cell cancer patients, to confirm the efficacy and safety. According to the results of an interim analysis released last year, the Bavencio+Inlyta combination treatment group had a progression-free survival (PFS) of 13.8 months, significantly longer than that of the monotherapy group, 7.2 months, but the primary endpoint was 11.6 months each. And 10.7 months, there was no significant difference. The risk of disease progression and death was found to be 39% lower than that of monotherapy. In the mid-term analysis, updated in April of this year, there was no significant difference in OS. Accordingly, another member explained, "Because it did not show superiority compared to the conventional therapy, it was judged that the advantages did not appear when the two drugs were administered in combination." "Data should be presented to show that the addition of a follow-up therapy to an existing therapy improves over the existing therapy." Experts analyzed that the impact of clinical design and follow-up treatment would have had an impact. One member said, "Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and Nivolumab (Opdivo) have the same design and are approved for their significance in OS, but this drug did not." They said, "This drug is more affected by follow-up treatment than the two drugs, so it is judged that the OS did not come out well." According to the 3rd OS interim analysis, 12% of the combination therapy group and 44% of the control group received follow-up treatment. During the follow-up therapy, more than 40% of the control group received immunotherapy. The combination therapy group was 10%. The company also explained, "It seems that these follow-up treatment factors have affected the OS." Even taking this into account, the committee members were negative about the approval. One member pointed out that "The important thing in determining the success or failure of a study is whether or not the primary endpoint is satisfied, and adverse drug reactions of grade 3 or higher also tend to increase compared to the control group, so it cannot be evaluated as completely harmless." He said, "It is also very important that there are other drugs that have already proved the OS, and I think product approval or conditional approval is impossible." Another member also said, "When considering the follow-up therapy and other alternative therapies, the benefit that patients can receive is not confirmed, so the significance of treatment cannot be recognized." In addition, another member said, "There was a case where the indication was not obtained due to the failure to prove the benefit of OS in the first-line treatment of small cell carcinoma of Keytruda and the first-line treatment of non-small cell carcinoma of Tecentriq. It is reasonable not to allow permission considering the fairness of the screening criteria for anti-cancer drugs." In the end, all six expert committee members concluded that the approval was not valid. An official from the MFDS who attended the meeting also said, "When evaluating the OS, the test group receives 3 drugs including the second treatment, and the control group receives 2 drugs, so if the OS results of the test group and the control group are similar, it doesn't benefit the patient." As all of the Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Review Committee disapproved, it was difficult to obtain Bavencio's indication for renal cell carcinoma in Korea. The Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Review Committee is an expert advisory body, and although the opinion of the Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Review Committee is not a decision of the MFDS, the opinion of the Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Review Committee is rarely reversed. Meanwhile, Bavencio has acquired the indications for the first-line treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma based on the research in Europe and the United States. It has only indications for Merkel cell cancer in March last year in Korea.
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- AZ supplies 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Korea
- by Dec 10, 2020 06:09am
- The government announced a contract with AstraZeneca and other COVID-19 vaccine developers on the 8th, and AstraZeneca Korea said, "We are pleased to be able to supply (vaccine) for the public benefit." Korea AstraZeneca (CEO, Sang-pyo Kim) said on the day, "According to the contract with the KDCA, we will supply 20 million doses of AZD1222 (for 10 million people) to Korea." COVID-19 vaccine candidates being developed jointly with Oxford University This is the result of discussions on domestic supply after signing a letter of intent for cooperation with the MOHW and SK Bioscience in July. An official from AstraZeneca Korea said, "We are pleased to be able to supply the vaccine to Korea for the public benefit through the signing of a supply contract for AZD1222 vaccine." He added, "I hope that we will be able to respond to the urgent demands of public health to protect the public's health and contribute to the government's efforts to fight COVID-19." He added, "As we have accurately disclosed the results of interim analysis of vaccine clinical studies through publication in authoritative academic journals, we will continue to verify the effectiveness and safety profile of vaccines based on scientific evidence." Previously, the government signed a contract for supply of 10 million people with AstraZeneca, and the government announced that it has confirmed the supply of 10 million people (20 million batches) from Pfizer and Modena respectively. It also secured about 10 million people from COVAX Facility and 4 million people from Janssen. COVAX Facility aims to equally supply vaccines up to 20% of the population by the end of 2021, focusing on the World Health Organization (WHO), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI, vaccine development), and the Global Vaccine Alliance (GAVI, vaccine supply). A total of 44 million vaccines have been secured in this way. The government plans to introduce the vaccine that it purchased in advance from February next year.
- Company
- Prolia's sales this year are ₩54.9 billion
- by Kim, Jin-Gu Dec 09, 2020 05:56am
- ProliaAmgen's osteoporosis treatment Prolia (Denosumab) is popular in the market after the expansion of benefits. Until the third quarter of this year, it was found that the cumulative sales amount increased by 87% compared to the same period last year. This is in contrast to the decline in sales of major osteoporosis treatments excluding Prolia. It is analyzed that Prolia accounts for the sales of existing treatments. According to the pharmaceutical market research agency IQVIA on the 7th, Prolia's cumulative sales in the third quarter of this year amounted to ₩54.9 billion. Compared to ₩29.3 billion in the same period last year, it increased by 87%. Prolia's sales surged after the benefit expansion in April last year. Sales from ₩4.9 billion in the first quarter of 2019 increased 2.5 times to ₩12.3 billion in the second quarter. The government expanded the benefits so that Prolia could be used for primary treatment of female osteoporosis patients. Prolia Since then, sales have been steadily increasing as additional data proving the superior effect compared to existing treatments have been released. From the second quarter of this year, it has exceeded ₩20 billion in quarterly sales. In addition, Amgen's other osteoporosis treatment, Evenity ((Romosozumab), has been reimbursed from this month as a secondary treatment for osteoporosis, which is expected to further expand its influence in the osteoporosis treatment market. Even before the application, it was found that sales of ₩2.8 billion were recorded until the third quarter. Major osteoporosis treatments excluding Prolia were unable to avoid a decrease in sales. Forsteo, which occupied the first place in the market before the advent of Prolia, decreased 12% from ₩15.9 billion in the third quarter of last year to ₩14 billion in the third quarter of this year. In the case of Bonviva and Bonviva plus sold by Handok, the total sales decreased 6% from ₩10.6 billion to ₩10 billion. Fosamax series by MDS also decreased by 16% from ₩10.9 billion to ₩9.1 billion, and Sales of Zoledronic acid by Daewoong dropped 24% from ₩11.1 billion to ₩8.5 billion. Sales of Evista decreased by 18% ( ₩5 billion → ₩4.1 billion), Risenex, 15% ( ₩3.9 billion → ₩3.3 billion), Viviant, 38% ( ₩3.4 billion → ₩2.1 billion), and Teribone, 17% ( ₩2 billion → ₩1.7 billion), Maxmarvil, 23% (₩2.1 billion → ₩1.6 billion). As Prolia is reimbursed, sales of other treatments are declining. However, Hanmi's RaboneD is expected to increase 4% in sales from ₩6.4 billion won to ₩6.7 billion through the 3rd quarter despite the rapid growth of Prolia. Changes in cumulative sales of major osteoporosis treatments in the third quarter (unit: ₩billion, data:IQVIA)
