Multinational pharmaceutical companies post mixed results

impactec by rise in sales of their innovative new drugs and the end of the COVID-19 pandemic

Pfizer and Gilead sales drop sharply...impacted by the sharp fall in sales of their COVID-19 vaccines and treatments

GSK’s sales rise 40% supported by the growth of Shingrix’s sales…Sanofi and Amgen’s sales are also on the rise

The Korean subsidiaries of multinational pharmaceutical companies posted mixed performances last year.

 

Sales of Pfizer Korea, MSD Korea, and Gilead Sciences Korea, which developed COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, plummeted due to the base effect of the pandemic.

 

On the other hand, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Amgen Korea saw sales increase thanks to the growth in sales of their innovative new drugs.

 

According to the Financial Supervisory Service on Saturday, the sales of 36 major multinational pharmaceutical companies in Korea fell 12.5% to KRW 10.37 trillion last year from KRW 11.84 trillion in 2022.

 

Of the 36 MNCs, 12 companies, including Pfizer, MSD, Janssen, Gilead, Bayer, Alcon, Lilly, MundiPharma, Ipsen, Teva-Handok, and Biogen, saw a sales decline.

 

The company that saw the largest decline was Pfizer.

 

Last year, the company's revenue fell 50.3% YoY to KRW 1.60 trillion.

 

The company's sales surged from 2021 supplying the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty and the treatment Paxlovid.

 

The company's sales soared to KRW 391.9 billion in 2020, KRW 1.70 trillion in 2021, then to KRW 3.23 trillion in 2022, but as the number of COVID-19 patients started to decrease with the endemic, the company's sales fell by half last year.

 

As the government took charge of the distribution and marketing of COVID-19 vaccines at the time, the company was able to generate high profits due to low SG&A costs.

 

MSD Korea's revenue fell 7.3% from KRW 820.4 billion in 2022 to KRW 760.9 billion last year.

 

After posting sales of KRW 471.6 billion in 2019 and KRW 541.9 billion in 2021, MSD Korea’s sales surged to exceed KRW 800 billion in 2022 but then saw a slight decline last year.

 

According to the market research firm IQVIA, sales of its flagship product Keytruda increased 66.4% from KRW 239.6 billion in 2022 to KRW 398.7 billion last year.

 

However, the company attributed the decline to a drop in sales of its diabetes drug Januvia and COVID-19 drug Lagevrio.

 

Gilead posted sales of KRW 384 billion last year, down 32.1% YoY.

 

Gilead also saw a decline in prescriptions for its COVID-19 drug Veklury, which led to a sales decline.

 

This is due to a sharp decline in the number of patients with COVID-19 and a significant drop in the number of critically ill patients.

 

Veklury is used for patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 who are below 94% oxygen saturation or require supplemental oxygen therapy.

 

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca, which was the first to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, saw a slight increase in sales.

 

AstraZeneca Korea's sales rose 3.9% from KRW 616.1 billion in 2022 to KRW 639.3 billion last year.

 

AstraZeneca Korea posted sales of KRW 655.3 billion in 2021, up 31.6% YoY, driven by the launch of its COVID-19 vaccine.

 

However, the company's sales fell slightly to KRW 615.1 billion in 2022 with the introduction of vaccines by Pfizer, Moderna, and Janssen.

 

AstraZeneca Korea’s sales rebounded last year thanks to the strong performance of its anticancer drugs.

 

Sales of the company’s lung cancer drug Tagrisso rose 4.2% YoY to KRW 110.9 billion based on IQVIA, while the immuno-oncology drug Imfinzi generated KRW 82.7 billion in sales last year, up 57.9% from the KRW 52.4 billion in 2022.

 

Sales of the breast cancer drug Lynparza increased 22.2% year-on-year.

 

In addition, Alcon Korea (-21.4%), Lilly Korea (-15.8%), Sanofi Pasteur (-6.2%), Bayer Korea (-3.0%), and Janssen Korea (-2.7%) also saw a sales decline.

 

GSK-Amgen-Sanofi post sales gains...driven by innovative new drugs GSK, Amgen, and Sanofi-Aventis posted sales increases last year, driven by sales of innovative new drugs.

 

GSK posted sales of KRW 385.1 billion last year, up 39.6% from KRW 275.8 billion in 2022.

 

GSK's growth was driven by its shingles vaccine, Shingrix.

 

Last year, Shingrix was the top seller in the shingles vaccine market, with sales of KRW 38.5 billion, according to IQVIA.

 

The fact that two domestic pharmaceutical companies joined to sell and promote Shingrix also contributed to its rapid market penetration.

 

GSK partnered with GC Biopharma and Kwangdong Pharmaceutical to promote sales of Shingrix in Korea.

 

Also, sales of GSK's benign prostatic hyperplasia combination drug Duodart increased 186.5% YoY.

 

Amgen Korea posted sales of KRW 228.8 billion last year, up 33.3% YoY.

 

Its innovative new drugs, including Prolia, Xgeva, and Repatha contributed to the sales growth.

 

According to the market research institution IQVIA, Amgen's Prolia generated KRW 151.1 billion in sales last year, up 30.6% YoY.

 

This is a 64.0% increase in two years from KRW 92.1 billion in 2021.

 

Launched in Korea in November 2016, Prolia is a biologic osteoporosis treatment that targets the RANKL protein, which is essential for the formation, activation, and survival of bone-destroying osteoclasts.

 

Sales of Repatha, a PCSK9 class dyslipidemia treatment, exceeded KRW 10 billion for the first time last year with 10.5 billion won.

 

Sales of Xgeva, which was released as a double-dose strength of Prolia, also exceeded KRW 10 billion for the first time last year.

 

Sanofi-Aventis Korea's sales totaled KRW 501.8 billion last year, up 3.7% YoY.

 

The company saw steady sales growth, adding an indication for its biological agents Dupixent and Eloxatin.

 

According to market research firm IQVIA, Dupixent generated sales of KRW 143.2 billion last year, up 36.1% YoY.

 

Dupixent is a first-in-class drug that targets the signaling of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13, which are major contributors to type 2 inflammation.

 

It has been shown to be effective in inflammatory diseases such as asthma and atopic dermatitis.

 

Last year, Eloxatin's sales reached KRW 43.6 billion, up 2.8% YoY.

 

Sales of Eloxatin, which was approved in Korea in 2005, have been on a slight decline since 2019, but have exceeded KRW 40 billion on average from 2020 to last year.