Pfizer expands co-marketing partnership deals

What potential has the company seen in forging such co-markeitng agreements?

Will comarket 2 types of autoimmune disease treatments with Hanlim MS

Sales of Enbrel, Xeljanz on a decline…Will Hanlim’s distribution network show an effect?

Pfizer Korea will co-market 2 blockbuster autoimmune disease drugs with a local drug distributor Hanlim MS.

 

Pfizer has signed copromotion deals with Jeil Pharmaceutical, Donghwa Pharm, and Chong Ku Dang, but this is the first time the company has signed a co-marketing partnership deal with Hanlim MS.

 

The company explained that it decided to partner with Hanlim MS because it owns various capabilities in distribution and supply in the field of autoimmune disease treatment.

 

Autoimmune disease treatment Enbrel

According to industry sources on the 3rd, Pfizer announced that it will co-market its autoimmune disease drug Enbrel with Hanlim MS.

 

This is the second agreement the companies have made, following the co-marketing agreement of Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor Xeljanz in January.

 

Previously, Pfizer distributed and marketed both drugs directly, and this is the first time the company decided to comarket the two drugs.

 

Pfizer has continuously been forging co-promotion partnerships with domestic pharmaceutical companies.

 

It is comarketing the antidepressant Pristiq Donghwa Pharm, and the pneumococcal vaccine Prevenar with Chong Kun Dang.

 

Viatris, which was spun off from Pfizer in 2020, is selling Lipitor, Celebrex, and Lyrica with Jeil Pharm.

 

However, 2 autoimmune disease drugs will be sold by Hanlim MS, a subsidiary of Hanlim Pharm.

 

Pfizer is said to have positively evaluated the synergies in terms of business strategy with Hanlim MS's nationwide distribution network.

 

Hallim MS is a direct pharmaceutical distributor Hanlim Pharm established through a spin-off in 2008.

 

Hallim MS generates 100% of its revenue from product sales.

 

The company has been recognized for having a nationwide distribution network with many years of accumulated know-how since establishing an internal sales organization in 2010.

 

This year, Hanlim MS has upscaled its rheumatology business unit to a division level and started to expand its business in earnest.

 

Pfizer Korea had signed a comarketing agreement with Hanlim MS for Xeljanz in January last year

Hanlim MS has been expanding its business in various other sectors in addition to pharmaceuticals.

 

In 2022, Hanlim MS signed a memorandum of understanding with OpenM, a medical device company, and FNA Medical, a medical device wholesaler, for ‘OpenCast (cast).’ In 2021, Hanlim Pharm also secured the domestic sales rights for an Eylea biosimilar, a macular degeneration treatment, with Altos Biologics, a subsidiary of domestic biotech company Alteogen.

 

Alteogen is currently conducting a global Phase III clinical trial for its candidate drug.

 

Pfizer Korea said, “Hanlim MS owns a broad range of capabilities and know-how in distribution and supply of pharmaceuticals including immune-mediated inflammatory disease therapies, and has a long-standing partnership with rheumatologists, so we expect our partnership to bring great synergies.”Sales of Enbrel-Xeljanz on a decline...will the partnership with Hanlim MS bring synergistic effect Pfizer Korea plans to expand sales through the co-marketing agreement with Hanlim MS.

 

Currently, sales of Enbrel and Xeljanz are declining due to the emergence of competing products.

 

Enbrel, which was approved in Korea in 2003, has 6 indications - adult rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis (ankylosing spondylitis, radiographically unidentified axial spondyloarthritis), psoriasis, and juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

 

However, its sales have been on a decline due to the rise of biosimilars and additional biologics.

 

According to market research firm IQVIA, Enbrel's sales have declined for 5 consecutive years after posting sales of KRW 12.9 billion in 2019.

 

Last year, the drug failed to reach the KRW 10 billion sales mark and posted KRW 9 billion in sales.

 

Companies that have launched biosimilars have been steadily gaining a bigger slice of the market pie.

 

LG Chem's Eucept posted sales of KRW 4.4 billion last year, up 8.8% year-on-year.

 

Its sales volume has been gradually increasing since posting KRW 1.2 billion in 2019.

 

Samsung Bioepis' Etoloce’s sales dropped 13.8% from KRW 4 billion in 2022 to KRW 3.5 billion last year.

 

Etoloce has consistently recorded sales of more than KRW 3 billion since 2019.

 

In addition to Enbrel, sales of Xeljanz, which is being jointly sold by Pfizer Korea and Hanlim MS, have also been on a decline.

 

Xeljanz was the first oral JAK inhibitor approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and was approved in South Korea in 2014.

 

It is currently approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, polyarthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and juvenile psoriatic arthritis.

 

However, sales of Xeljanz have been declining due to the emergence of competitors such as Rinvoq, Olumiant, and Jyseleca.

 

Last year, Xeljanz generated sales of KRW 12.9 billion, down 4.4% from 2022.

 

This is the third consecutive year of declining sales for Xeljanz, after posting KRW 16.2 billion in 2020.