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- 2026-03-19 01:38:07
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- Prescription drop amid COVID-19 finally emerges in April
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Jun 02, 2020 06:09am
- The outpatient prescription volume in April has dropped by 10 percent against the same month last year. The outcome contrasts to this year’s first quarter prescription volume showing an increase against last year. Although the COVID-19 confirmed case curve in Korea seems to have gone down from April, the prescription volume shrunk even worse. As chronic disease patients have received long-term prescription in the first quarter to avoid visiting healthcare institutes amid COVID-19, a long break in prescription has seemingly occurred in the month of April. According to pharmaceutical market research firm UBIST on May 25, the total outpatient prescription volume in April was at 1.19 trillion won, which was brought down by 8.7 percent than in last year. In 2018 and 2019, the April prescription volumes have surged by 8.3 percent and 13.1 percent, respectively, compared to the previous year, but it bounced back down in last April. The April prescription volume this year has hit the lowest point in ten months since June last year. Monthly outpatient prescription trend (Unit: KRW 100 million) Source: UBIST The pharmaceutical industry experts evaluate that the COVID-19 impact on the prescription market has finally surfaced in the month of April. Since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Korea, the industry was deeply concerned that the prescription drug market would be shaken as pharmaceutical companies’ sales activities have been diminished and increasing number of outpatient refrained from visiting healthcare providers. But, the prescription volume up to March did not seem affected. Apparently, the prescription volume in the first quarter reached 3.70 trillion won, which was 2.7 percent higher than last year first quarter at 3.60 trillion won. The monthly prescription volume in January this year was dropped by 4.4 percent than last year by generating 1.22 trillion won. On the contrary, the February prescription volume this year was surged by 13.0 percent, generating 1.22 trillion. The industry experts analyze the number of business days in January and February have been affected by the early Lunar New Year holidays in Korea. This year’s January with less number of business days than last year had less prescription volume and February with more business days this year had increased volume. The total prescription volume in March was at 1.23 trillion won with 1.4 percent growth from last year. But the volume in April had the steepest fall so far in the year. In last year’s April, the prescription volume soared by 7.4 percent than the previous month, but this year’s April had a 3.2 percent dip from March. Many of chronic disease patients receiving long-term prescription to avoid visiting healthcare providers could have created a significant prescription drop in April. Apparently, the cases of patients receiving three to six months worth of prescription have skyrocketed when the confirmed case of COVID-19 peaked in Korea. The experts also suspect the postponed school semester, social distancing and better-managed personal hygiene could have reduced the disease prevalence in infants and children, which also affected the drop in the number of visit to healthcare institute. A majority of pharmaceutical companies in April had sluggish outcome in prescription volume. Among the top ten companies—Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Chong Kun Dang, Pifzer, Daewong Pharmaceutical, MSD, Novartis, Yuhan, Boehringer Ingelheim, HK inno.N and AstraZeneca—nine companies except for AstraZeneca had stagnating prescription volume in April than the year before. Top April outpatient prescription volume in 2020 by companies (Unit: KRW 100 million) Source: UBIST Hanmi Pharmaceutical recording the highest volume of prescription has made 52.9 billion won in April, falling down 8.7 percent than in last year. The Korean company’s first quarter volume was increased by 6.2 percent than in last year, but the volume was pulled back down in April. Chong Kun Dang and Pfizer’s April prescription volumes also had significant drop of 10.5 percent and 8.8 percent, respectively. Chong Kun Dang had a 1.7 percent growth in the first quarter, but the company took a steep fall in April. Pfizer’s first quarter prescription volume was dropped by 4.1 percent, and the figure got worse in April. The companies with the highest prescription volume, such as Daewoong Pharmaceutical, MSD, Novartis, Yuhan, Boehringer Ingelheim and HK inno.N, all performed worse than last year. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca made 9.3 percent more in this year’s April than last year. The multinational company’s first quarter prescription volume also grew by 9.7 percent from the year before. The pharmaceutical industry expects the prescription drug market would take a sharp upturn soon, as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has been dropping and the social distancing has been shifted to distancing in daily life.
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- Ilyang’s Supect were approved for phase III in Russia
- by Lee, Seok-Jun Jun 01, 2020 06:19am
- Ilyang announced on the 28th that its domestically developed new drug, Supect, will be conducting phase III clinical trials in Russia for the purpose of treating COVID-19. According to the company, Supect received phase III approval of 'COVID-19 treatment' from the Russian government under the supervision of R-Pharm, the No. 1 company in the Russian pharmaceutical industry. R-Pharm pays all costs for the phase III, and Ilyang provides the clinical drug Supect. Clinical trials are conducted in 145 mild and severe COVID-19 confirmed patients from 11 institutions in Russia and neighboring Belarus. After two weeks of dosing, Supect’s significance of treatment effect will be confirmed. An official from Ilyang said that Supect is a domestically proven new drug that is the first clinical trial among domestic pharmaceutical companies, and is likely to be commercialized as a therapeutic agent faster than other candidates.
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- KRPIA-MOHW talk negotiation, prioritized lisiting and PVA
- by Eo, Yun-Ho May 29, 2020 06:16am
- “Nothing was clarified, but we could somewhat feel out their approach.” For the first time since new Director Yang Yoon Seok was appointed, the Division of Pharmaceutical Benefits at Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) met with a couple of dozen Korean Research-based Pharmaceutical Industry Association (KRPIA) officials and multinational pharmaceutical company market access (MA) representatives on May 28. Along with Director Yang, Senior Deputy Director Lee Seon-joo and Deputy Director Choi Kyung-ho joined the meeting, where the organization officials and various pharmaceutical company representatives freely asked questions and spoke of their recommendations. Of all topics addressed, three main issues were discussed in-depth. Is pricing negotiation required for all drugs seeking for reimbursed pricing? The Korean government has notified earlier of implementing unified drug listing procedure. For all drugs evaluated to be appropriate for health insurance reimbursement, the government has mandated negotiation to finalize the listing decision. The change is crucial for Korean pharmaceutical companies and their generic products. But for multinational pharmaceutical companies, the change is a concerning issue for the drugs taking the negotiation-exempted track with pricing lower than weighted average price. The point of negotiation exemption system is speed. Technically, companies aiming to swiftly proceed with reimbursement listing take the negotiation exemption track and choose to price the drug on the level of negotiated price. But now the mandatory negotiation procedure could slow down the listing procedure. Regarding the concern, MOWH implied its intention to operate a flexible system. MOHW official said, “The government is also aware that not all drugs seeking for reimbursement would be fit for negotiation on projected claim amount. Depending on the circumstances, the negotiation condition may vary.” Is reimbursement listing prioritization making a leeway to neglect some drugs? The new drug pricing system also stipulates the Minister of Health and Welfare to decide the prioritized order of drug reimbursement listing. Currently, the reimbursement listing review by relevant committees like Drug Reimbursement Evaluation Committee has a limited period of 150 days. But the new prioritized reimbursement review would remove the time limit. The pharmaceutical industry is clearly worried about the amendment. Basically, the reimbursement listing procedure for a drug simply pursuing the benefit could be delayed indefinitely based on the prioritized order. The government seems to be aware of the concern. MOHW explained, “Only because a drug is expensive, or in other words, the drug has a significant financial impact, it would not be ruled out from the priority order. Some drugs could start the listing procedure fast, if need be. We are always pondering on how to improve new drug access.” Price-volume agreement system and labeled price A company representative also spoke of applying the ‘labeled price’ notion, used in the risk sharing agreement (RSA) system, for drugs lowering price due to price-volume agreement (PVA) system. In fact, the government already allows PVA drugs to apply refund rate. However, the benefit is only given to the companies certified as an innovative pharmaceutical company. And the multinational company official proposed the benefit should be extended. The government officials apparently answered with a positive note. The ministry official urged, “The recommendation is plausible and we would review the matter in detail. But, as you would be aware, changes in regulations cannot be rushed in a short span of time.”
- Company
- Alvogen Korea secures domestic rights for Evista
- by An, Kyung-Jin May 28, 2020 10:06am
- Alvogen Korea took over the domestic rights of 'Evista', an osteoporosis treatment for Takeda. Alvogen Korea announced on the 26th that it had obtained domestic permission for the osteoporosis treatment drug, Evista ( Raloxifene ) from Takeda Pharmaceuticals on the 25th. Evista is a second-generation estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) family and are oral drugs taken once a day. It is prescribed for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. At one time, sales were close to ₩15 billion a year, but sales of the complex have been plunged recently with the emergence of multiple combinations of vitamin D ingredients. According to the drug research agency IQVIA, Evista's sales last year were ₩6.4 billion. Since September 2018, Alvogen Korea has been in charge of domestic distribution and sales by signing a co-promotional agreement with Takeda Pharmaceuticals, which has domestic rights of Evista. Through this contract, Alvogen Korea has secured all rights for domestic licenses, exclusive distribution and marketing as a marketing authorization holder. Alvogen Korea announced its ambition to expand the influence of the specialized drug market by acquiring domestic rights, such as 'Seroquel', a treatment for schizophrenia, following the launch of 'Qsymia', an anti-obesity drug earlier this year. Lee Jun-su, CEO of Alvogen Korea, said, "With this agreement, we plan to firmly strengthen our expertise and market position in the field of osteoporosis treatment." "We will actively engage in marketing activities aimed at providing stable products and steady growth."
- Company
- K-Bio in ASCO 2020: Seeking the optimal combination
- by Choi sun May 27, 2020 06:07am
- From May 29, ten of Korean pharmaceutical and bio companies are to participate in the virtually held American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting (ASCO) 2020. GC Pharma, SillaJen, Genexine and many other Korean companies are planning to present various clinical study outcomes related to anticancer treatments. # The ASCO annual meeting invites approximately 40,000 oncology specialists around the world every year, but this year the event is to be convened online. The biggest theme of this year is seeking the optimal combination for anticancer therapy. Many of studies to be presented are focusing on improving the treatment utility better than the existing epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) targeted therapy through combination therapy. ASCO has chosen GC Pharma’s abstract reporting the interim findings of phase 1b/2a study on the novel targeted therapy ‘GC1118,’ in joint development with Mogam Institute for Biomedical Research, to be presented at the annual meeting. GC1118 is a novel monoclonal antibody targeting overexpressed EGFR. By binding with EGFR that triggers proliferation of tumor cell and metastasis, the targeted therapy inhibits proliferating cancer while promoting killing of tumor cells by activating lymphocytes. The phase 1b/2a study is testing the combination of GC1118 and other chemotherapies including irinotecan and FOLFIRI, which its interim findings are selected for poster presentation. On May 29, SillaJen is to publish an abstract as well. The Korean company’s study is testing combination therapy between SillaJen’s oncolytic virus Pexa-Vec and the U.S.-based company Regeneron’s immune checkpoint inhibitor Libtayo. The report could provide promising first human testing evidence raising anticipation on commercialization. NK Max developing targeted therapy ‘SNK01’ is unveiling three abstracts related to the anticancer treatment—interim report of phase 1/2a clinical study in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) conducted in Korea, interim report of phase 1 study in solid tumor conducted in the U.S., and study testing NK cell activity as a biomarker for Keytruda. The SNK01 plus Keytruda combination marked overall response rate (ORR) at 66 percent and confirmed improved effect against Keytruda monotherapy. The nine study subjects were divided into three in Keytruda monotherapy group and six in SNK01 plus Keytruda combination group. The ORR, showing the pharmaceutical treatment effect, reached 66 percent, in which four out of six patients demonstrated outstanding effect of lessening the tumor level. The three out of four that had positive treatment effect confirmed partial remission with 50 percent reduction in tumor cell and the other one resulted in partial remission with 30 percent reduction in tumor cell. Specifically, combining Keytruda seems to have improved adverse event issues, as well as treatment effect, of the immune checkpoint inhibitor. #Genexine is preparing to showcase interim outcome of phase 1b/2 clinical study testing the hyleukin-7 plus immune checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda (pembrolizumab) combination therapy in patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). It was a first clinical study to test hyleukin-7 combined with an immune checkpoint inhibitor. Also, MedPacto is to reveal phase 1 clinical data testing a transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) inhibitor vactosertib plus leukemia treatment imatinib to treat patients with Desmoid tumor. Testing the early anti-tumor activity of vactosertib combined with imatinib, the therapy reached ORR of 28.6 percent (two out of seven patients), which was significantly higher than the previously reported one-year response rate of imatinib monotherapy (11 to 13 percent). The combination therapy also demonstrated improved six-month progression free survival (PFS) at 100 percent, which was exceptionally higher than the imatinib monotherapy at 65 to 80 percent. Pharmabcine is announcing interim outcome of phase 1b study on neovascularization inhibitor olinvacimab combined with Keytruda treating patients with glioblastoma. Moreover, Yuhan has three abstracts to be presented at the ASCO annual conference regarding clinical studies with NSCLC treatment Lazertinib. The first abstract is to report phase 1/2 clinical trial testing anti-tumor effect and safety of administering 240 mg Lazertinib once-daily as a second-line therapy, and the second abstract is to report a subgroup analysis on 64 NSCLC patients with T790 mutation confirmed to have brain metastases receiving 20 mg to 320 mg of Lazertinib. The last abstract analyzes clinical genetics of resistance against Lazertinib. Cancer cells develop resistance against targeted therapy by inducing new genetic mutation. The study delves into types of resistant mutation against Lazertinib with 47 patients whose stage of cancer has advanced after receiving Lazertinib.
- Company
- KRPIA-MOHW meeting rescheduled on May 28
- by Eo, Yun-Ho May 27, 2020 06:05am
- Korean Research-based Pharmaceutical Industry Association (KRPIA) and Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) have rescheduled their meeting canceled last week due to a confirmed case of COVID-19. According to a pharmaceutical industry source, a meeting between MOHW Pharmaceutical Benefits Division and KRPIA Market Access (MA) and Government Affair (GA) representatives is to be convened on coming Thursday. The new Director of Pharmaceutical Benefits Division, Yang Yoon Seok, would officially meet with KRPIA representatives for the first time. Also, Senior Deputy Director Lee Seon-joo and Deputy Director Choi Kyung-ho would accompany Director Yang at the meeting to listen to the industry’s opinion and discuss prospective approach on the drug pricing policy. KRPIA representatives are expected to address their perspective on the government’s plan to revise the drug pricing system. The industry source reported the regulation on the National Health Insurance (NHI) healthcare reimbursement would be the focus of the talk. The industry organization would likely to raise voice regarding the government setting down detailed principles and prioritizing the order of pharmaceutical reimbursement listing to take account of the NHI finance status. In particular, the organization would question the government officials about the ‘detailed principles,’ specific standard of prioritization, and exempting the negotiation period from the currently aimed duration of 150 days. Moreover, the industry organization would ask the government officials to provide information on specified negotiation and its procedure for projected claim amount of drugs, and prospective listing procedure and required listing period for negotiation-exempted drug with pricing lower than weighted average price. On May 21, KRPIA started working from home as a confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported from the Twin City Namsan building, where its office is located. The organization resumed their regular work from May 25.
- Company
- Prevenar13 by Pfizer sales increased 50%
- by An, Kyung-Jin May 26, 2020 06:05am
- Prevenar13 Pfizer's pneumococcal vaccine 'Prevenar 13' had a high sales. It is evaluated that reflex profits appeared as anticipation for the effect of preventing pneumonia increased due to prolongation of COVID-19 outbreak. According to the drug research agency IQVIA on the 21st, 'Prevenar 13' sales in the first quarter increased 52.2% to ₩17.6 billion, compared to ₩11.6 billiona year earlier. After the fourth quarter of last year, the quarterly sales exceeded ₩17 billion for the second consecutive quarter. Privenar 13 peaked in sales in the fourth quarter, when demand for vaccination increased, and repeated the pattern of decreasing in the first quarter. However, in the first quarter of this year, sales increased rather than the fourth quarter of last year. This is the first time that Privenar 13's sales in the first quarter increased from the fourth quarter of the previous year. In contrast, sales of pneumococcal vaccine Synflorix pfs, which is prescribed to children, fell 37.6% YoY, and sales of pneumococcal vaccine Prodiax 23 for adults increased 4.3% YoY. Trend of quarterly sales of major pneumococcal vaccines (Unit: ₩1 million, Source: IQVIA) 'Prevenar 13' is a 13-valent protein conjugate vaccine (PCV13) that prevents infection against 13 pneumococcal serotypes (1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F, 23F). Pfizer was granted 'Prevenar' (PCV7) in 2010 to prevent pneumococcal disease caused by 7 pneumococcal serotypes (4, 6B, 9V, 14, 18C, 19F, 23F) in 2010. Six years of serotypes (1, 3, 5, 6A, 7F, and 19A) have been added to 'Prevenar 13'. It is a product that can be inoculated at any age over 6 weeks of age. Chong Kun Dang is in charge of distribution nationwide for adults, and for infants and toddlers, Korea vaccine is in distribution. It seems that the situation in COVID-19 had some influence on 'Prevenar' setting a new record in the first quarter. Although prevenar does not prevent COVID-19 caused pneumonia, Some experts argue that it can help weaken the symptoms of pneumonia. It is an analysis that the demand for inoculation in adults has increased. At the time of the first quarter of April, Pfizer's head office announced, "As the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the number of patients visiting hospitals, most vaccination rates have decreased. On the other hand, sales of some medicines used for the purpose of preventing infection or treating symptoms of COVID-19 have increased, including 'Prevenar 13', sterilized injection products, and anti-infective agents. Currently, no vaccine is available to prevent COVID-19. As a result, overseas academia is actively recommending that high-risk groups vulnerable to COVID-19 follow the national immunization guidelines such as pneumococcal vaccine. The American Heart Association (ACC) recommended that patients with cardiovascular disease be considered for the simultaneous inoculation of pneumococcal vaccines and influenza vaccines to prevent secondary bacterial infections. The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued guidelines to provide flu vaccines and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines to workers in long-term care institutions such as rehabilitation centers. The reason for long-term care is that the elderly and high-risk patients are relatively vulnerable to infection.
- Company
- Improving access to Lenvima and its later-line treatment
- by Eo, Yun-Ho May 25, 2020 06:27am
- #1 The Korean pharmaceutical industry is keeping a close eye on the Cancer Deliberation Committee’s June meeting to discuss the coverage on later-line treatment following Lenvima treating liver cancer. The pharmaceutical industry sources reported the Cancer Deliberation Committee could talk about extending the access of patient with hepatocelluar carcinoma on Eisai’s Lenvima (lenvatinib) to second-line treatment. The medical experts have been in a heated dispute over the access of second-line treatment against liver cancer. When a patient is to choose Lenvima over Bayer’s Nexavar (sorafenib) for the NHI-covered first-line treatment, there is no later-line treatment with the NHI coverage. Before the launch of Lenvima, Nexavar was the only option for treating patients with liver cancer. Over a decade, Nexavar has been the only hope as many pharmaceutical companies have failed developing another treatment option. And then along came Lenvima that conducted head-to-head clinical study against Nexavar and demonstrated improved overall response rate (ORR) and progression-free survival (PFS). But its overall survival (OS) was not a significant improvement against sorafenib. Regardless of the OS result, Lenvima’s clinical evidences were meaningful. A novel treatment option for liver cancer is rare. For many years, sunitinib, brivanib, linifanib and erlotinib have challenged against sorafenib’s position to treat patients with liver cancer who cannot easily expect five-year survival. And eventually, they all have failed. , But Lenvima still lacks a second-line treatment option. On the contrary, Bayer has released liver cancer treatment Stivarga (regorafenib) and even received NHI reimbursement in Korea. Stivarga’s indication and reimbursement standard focus on ‘patients who have failed treatment through Nexavar.’ Basically, Lenvima threatened Nexavar’s position with superior ORR and PFS outcomes, but Nexavar has provided a later-line option in case it fails. Accordingly, the recently updated 2018 Korean Liver Cancer Association-National Cancer Center Korea Practice Guidelines for the Management of Hepatocelluar Carcinoa lowered the recommendation class of Lenvima than Nexavar. It caused a fierce conflict within the academic society, but the conclusion has been made. Although the U.S. and European medical experts recommend two drugs at a same class, the Korean healthcare professions have decided otherwise. Surely, there were many Korean specialists who argued the two treatments should be at a same level, and other academic society with reliable prescription experience has submitted a formal statement. Professor Lim Ho Yeong of Hematology and Oncology Department at Samsung Medical Center commented, “As the liver cancer does not have so optimistic prognosis, access on covered later-line treatments are integral and urgent. A treatment option with promising effect having a limitation, only because it lacks later-line treatment option, is regrettable.” Moreover, the professor added, “A retrospective analysis has recently confirmed Lenvima effectively prolonging OR in patients who have continued with later-line treatment after frontline Lenvima treatment. As a result, academic societies are also raising their voice again to enhance patients’ access to the treatment.”
- Company
- Erectile dysfunction treatment market suffered from COVID-19
- by An, Kyung-Jin May 25, 2020 06:26am
- (Clockwise from top left) Product of Palpal, Viagra, Gugu, and Cendom The well-established domestic erectile dysfunction treatment market was stagnant. As the sales of large products sold by Hanmi Pharm, Chong Kun Dang, and Pfizer decreased, the overall market size was lowered. According to the analysis, the market for erectile dysfunction treatment, which has a relatively low disease severity, has been suffered from the spread of COVID-19. According to the drug research agency IQVIA on the 25th, the size of the domestic erectile dysfunction drug market in the first quarter was ₩26.9 billion, a 4.8% decrease from the previous year's ₩28.2 billion. It was 9.5% lower than ₩29.7 billion in the previous quarter, showing the lowest level in a year and a half. COVID-19 outbreak seems to have had some impact on the contraction of the erectile dysfunction market, which has maintained quarterly sales of around ₩29 billion since the fourth quarter of 2018. It is said that the prolonged COVID-19 situation led to a decrease in patients' visits to the hospital and restrictions on sales and marketing activities, which prompted the market to stagnate. Quarterly sales of major erectile dysfunction treatments (Unit: ₩1 million, Source: IQVIA) Looking at the sales of major erectile dysfunction treatments, sales of large items such as Hanmi Pharm's 'Palpal', Chong Kundang's 'Cendom', and Pfizer's 'Viagra' decreased significantly. In the first quarter of the year, sales amount of Palpal was ₩5 billion, down 7.8% from the same period of the previous year. Sales fell by ₩1 billion (15.5%) from the previous quarter. 'Palpal' is a generic for Sildenafil released by Hanmi Pharm immediately after the expiration of Viagra in 2012. After defeating Viagra in 2013 and Cialis in 2015, it is selling well. The market share of all erectile dysfunction drugs in the first quarter was 18.6%. The decline in sales was bigger for 'Cendom'. 'Cendom' maintained the second place in sales in the first quarter of last year, selling ₩2.4 billion, down 11.2% year-on-year. Cendom (Tadalafil) is a generic for of Cialis that was released after the patent expired in September 2015. Since its launch, the market share has gradually increased, surpassing the original Cialis in the fourth quarter of 2017. In the 4th quarter of last year, it is surpassing the sales of 'Viagra' and is following the leading 'Palpal'. Despite the overall market shrinking, domestically developed generic products were relatively stronger than those of multinational pharmaceutical companies. 'Viagra' by Pfizer had a 15.8% year-on-year decrease in sales in the first quarter, with ₩2.1 billion, which widened the gap with the second place 'Cendom'. The sales of Cialis' of Lilly in the first quarter was ₩1.5 billion, down 10.6% from the same period last year. This is about a quarter of sales in the first quarter of 2015. Since February 2018, after dealing with Cialis' domestic distribution, marketing, and sales activities in February 2018, Handok’s sales has not been rebounded. This is in contrast to the sales of another generic product, Hanmi’s Gugu and Donga ST's 'Zydena' (Udenafil), which increased slightly compared to the same period last year. In the first quarter, 'Gugu' took the fourth place, selling ₩1.8 billion, a 6.8% increase over the same period last year. In the same period, 'Zydena' sales rose 3.1% YoY to ₩1.6 billion, surpassing 'Cialis' and took the 5th place. The industry says that the erectile dysfunction treatment market is less vulnerable to external factors such as infectious disease epidemics because it has a lower severity and less essential nature than chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. According to a recent analysis by Korea IQVIA, cardiovascular products such as angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) hypertension drugs and lipid lowering agents have maintained unchanged growth before and before the COVID-19 epidemic, whereas systemic anti-infective agents, musculoskeletal systems, and urinary system drugs are all pharmaceuticals. It was found that it did not reach the market growth rate. An official from IQVIA in Korea said, “In the first quarter, the entire pharmaceutical market recorded sales and growth that were more than expected, but the urinary genital market had a slower growth rate than usual. "The main reason is that quarterly sales growth was not as good as before, and sales of hormone-related products decreased in the outpatient market."
- Company
- Pfizer stopped Duavive due to quality problems
- by Kim, Jin-Gu May 25, 2020 06:26am
- DuavivePfizer Pharmaceuticals voluntarily recovers its own menopausal treatment drug Duavive. This is based on the identification of potential quality problems in the results of self-investigation. On the 21st, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals requested each drug distributor to discontinue certain lot numbers of Duavive 0.45mg / 20mg folowing as ▲DC5278 ▲CW7990 ▲CG3243 ▲AG5438 ▲AG6437 ▲X34636 ▲W78860 ▲W78858 ▲T42330 ▲T34122 etc. Duavive is a medicine used to prevent osteoporosis and treat menopause symptoms. According to the drug research institute IQVIA, the sales amount last year was about ₩ 6.9 billion. Pfizer confirmed the potential impact on product quality and said the reason for asking to stop shipping. Next, the company said, “The product with the corresponding manufacturing lot number will be voluntarily recovered as soon as possible and the shipment would be stopped to minimize the distribution of the manufacturing number before proceeding with the recovery”. In this regard, an official from Pfizer Korea said, “It is not related to the safety and effectiveness of the drug, and I think there were some problems in manufacturing the product with the corresponding manufacturing number in a factory located in Ireland.”
