Lucentis biosimilars occupy 16% of mkt in 1 year

And increases savings in insurance health finances

Lucentis market in Q1 reach KRW 4.6 billion… decreases 40% in 2 yrs

Lucentis’s price cut 30% due to the release of Samsung Bioepis and Chong Kun Dang’s release of biosimilars

Despite the low market occupancy of the biosimilars, the original drug price cut that followed contributed to financial savings

The market size for the eye disease drug Lucentis has shrunk significantly.

 

Last year, its biosimilars entered the market and reduced the drug price of Lucentis, reducing the market size.

 

Although the market share of the two biosimilars remains a mere 16%, the price reduction of Lucentis saved more than KRW 10 billion in annual health insurance finances.

 

According to drug research institution IQVIA, the market size of ranibizumab in Q1 was KRW 4.6 billion, down 9.7% YoY.

 

Ranibizumab is the active ingredient contained in Lucentis.

 

Lucentis, which is marketed by Roche and Novartis, is a drug used to treat eye diseases such as macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema.

 

It is indicated for the treatment of ▲neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration, ▲diabetic macular edema, ▲proliferative diabetic retinopathy, ▲ vision impairment due to macular edema following retinal vein occlusion, ▲and vision impairment due to choroidal neovascularization.

 

The ranibizumab recorded KRW 7.6 billion in sales in Q1 2022, down 33.3% from KRW 5 billion in Q1 last year.

 

The market size for Lucentis shrank due to the drug price cut that followed the entry of its biosimilars.

 

Samsung Bioepis and Chong Kun Dang received approvals for their Lucentis biosimilar products.

 

Samsung Bioepis received approval for its Lucentis biosimilar Amelivu in May 2022, and Chong Kun Dang received approval for its LucenBS in October 2022.

 

Amelivu and LucenBS have been reimbursed since January last year.

 

The insurance price ceiling of Lucentis has been cut by 30% since February last year.

 

The price of Lucentis 10mg (2.3mg/0.23mL) had fallen 30% from KRW 828,166 to KRW 579,716.

 

The price of Lucentis Prefilled Syringe (KRW 826,231→KRW 578,362) also fell 30%.

 

As a result, sales of Lucentis in Q1 were 3.8 billion won, down 23.3% YoY.

 

Compared to Q1 2021, which was before the price cut, the company's sales have fallen by 49.5% in 2 years.

 

While domestically developed biosimilar versions of Lucentis are working to accelerate market penetration, their current share in the market is less significant.

 

In Q1, Amelivu sold KRW 500 million.

 

Since its sales exceeded KRW 100 million in Q3 last year, its sales scale has gradually expanded, but its gap with the original drug is still large.

 

Amelivu’s market share in Q1 was 11.1%.

 

LucenBS’s Q1 sales were KRW 200 million, accounting for only 5.0% of the total market.

 

The two biosimilars combined occupied 16.2% of the market, falling far behind Lucentis’s share.

 

However, Amelivu and LucenBS’s supply at a relatively low price in the market is said to have significantly contributed to reducing the cost of medication for patients.

 

The insurance ceiling price of Amelivu 10mg/ml is KRW 350,000, which is only at a 60.4% level of Lucentis’ price.

 

Compared to the price of Lucentis before the price cut, it costs 42.3% of Lucentis’ previous price.

 

The insurance price of LucenBS is KRW 150,000, which is 74.1% lower than Lucentis.

 

This is more than 80% lower than the price of Lucentis before the biosimilar was launched.

 

Initially, Chong Kun Dang listed LucenBS at an insurance price of KRW 300,000, then further reduced the price by 50% this year.

 

In Q1, the Lucentis market shrank by 40.0% compared to 2 years ago.

 

However, considering the drug price cut and the market entry of cheaper biosimilars, their usage has not decreased.

 

The emergence of domestically developed biosimilars has resulted in annual health insurance savings of more than KRW 10 billion.