‘Competitors eye Eylea due to its many benefits’

The company will continue to build on the reliability of the product that it has accumulated over the past 10 years

[Interview] Sangok Suh, Specialty Medicine BU Head, Bayer Korea

Leading macular degeneration treatment for the past decade... posted KRW 80 bil in sales last year

Will be competing with new drugs and biosimilars in the future...’Eylea’s solid strengths remain unwaivered’

The fact that many companies are concentrating on the development of Eylea biosimilars is proof of the many advantages owned by Eylea.

 

We plan to continue to make known the strengths of Eylea while developing new products to continue to deliver on our patient and HCP-centric treatment strategy.” Sangok Suh, Head of the Specialty Medicine business unit at Bayer Korea said so regarding Eylea’s off-patent strategy during an interview with DailyPharm.

 

Sangok Suh, Specialty Medicine BU Head, Bayer Korea

The anti-VEGF inhibitor Eylea is regarded as the long-standing powerhouse in the field of macular degeneration.

 

The drug has been solidifying its lead in the market ever since it was approved in Korea in 2013.

 

According to the market research institution IQVIA, Eylea’s annual sales reached KRW 80.4 billion last year.

 

This is a 14% increase over the previous year.

 

Even in the 10th year of approval, the drug has been showing off its unwavering potential, recording double-digit growth.

 

However, like all other new drugs, Eylea is also facing challenges from competitors.

 

This year, the first new bispecific antibody drug for macular degeneration, ‘Vabysmo’, was introduced to Korea, and the domestic patent for Eylea is set to expire in January 2024.

 

Although no direct competition has been made between the two, changes are expected to arise at the end of the year.

 

Vabysmo received conditional approval from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service’s Drug Reimbursement Evaluation Committee in July.

 

The committee deemed the drug’s reimbursement adequate if the company accepted a price lower than the evaluated price.

 

Therefore, if the drug pricing negotiations progress without issues, the drug is expected to be listed in 2H this year.

 

In addition, domestic pharmaceutical and bio companies have been applying for the approval of their biosimilars that target Eylea’s patent expiry.

 

Celltrion, Samsung Bioepis, Sam Chun Dang Pharm, and Alteogen are nearly at the end of developing their Eylea biosimilars.

 

The imminent challenges are set to inevitably complicate the marketing strategy for Eylea.

 

In this changing environment, Suh expressed her determination to stick to the basics.

 

Suh plans to further appeal to the strengths of Eylea, the drug that had established the T&E(Treat&Extend) treatment regimen as a standard treatment in the field of macular degeneration.

 

Eylea was the first drug that allowed patients to adjust their treatment interval according to the patient's condition using the T&E regimen.

 

Suh said, “Eylea has been at the forefront of change in macular degeneration treatment trends over the past 10 years.

 

It has contributed to establishing anti-VEGF treatment as the standard of care and established a personalized treatment environment for patients by demonstrating the efficacy of flexible injection intervals.

 

We wanted to raise awareness of the disease itself break the ‘'macular degeneration leads to blindness’ formula, and create an environment where patients receive early treatment for the disease.” As the representative macular degeneration treatment, Eylea has shown steady growth in Korea.

 

Recently, the prefilled syringe formulation has been newly introduced, reducing the preparation time for drug administration, and enabling a more efficient and convenient treatment experience for the patients.

 

The prefilled syringe formulation can be used with reimbursement for all indications approved for the existing Eylea 2mg formulation.

 

Regarding the challenges being made by biosimilar companies, Suh said, “That in itself is proof of the many advantages owned by Eylea.

 

Although we won’t be able to prevent the price cuts made on our drug due to the introduction of its biosimilars, we are confident that competitivity-wise, the market is still in favor of the original.

 

Biosimilars usually make a bid at the market with their lower price.

 

However, in the case of Eylia, we have a program in place that reimburses a certain level of expenses for diabetic macular degeneration, which takes care of about half of the patient's burden.

 

Therefore, patients can enjoy the ‘cheap price’ benefit offered by the biosimilars while using the original drug.

 

The clinical data and trust that Eylea has built over the past 10 years is a barrier that biosimilars cannot easily break down.

 

Based on this, Suh emphasized that the company’s best defense strategy will be to focus on the unmet needs of patients and HCPs.

 

Suh said, “The Eylea team needs to contemplate how to address the unmet needs of patients and HCPs to ultimately create a better treatment environment for the patients.

 

That is the best defense strategy.

 

We will work to make Eylea more widely available for various retinal diseases, including diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, etc.