Prescription of HA eye drops record KRW 166 bil in 1H

Soon subject to reimbursement reevaluations

Prescriptions of hyaluronic acid eye drop rise 16% in one year

Half-year prescriptions of 7 companies exceed KRW 10 billion

Annual KRW 300 bil market...companies to jointly respond to the reimb reevaluation measure

The prescription market for hyaluronic acid eye drops grew to record the largest scale ever ahead of the reimbursement reevaluations set for the end of this year.

 

In 1H alone, the market grew exceeded KRW 160 billion in prescriptions this year.

 

The number of companies with half-year prescriptions that exceed KRW 10 billion increased from 5 in 1H last year to 7.

 

The pharmaceutical companies that will inevitably suffer huge losses due to the expected reimbursement re-evaluations are preparing to jointly respond to the government's measures.

 

Prescription of HA eye drops exceed KRW 160 bil in 1H, 7 companies exceed KRW 10 bil According to the market research institution UBIST, outpatient prescription of HA eye drops in 1H this year was KRW 16.6 billion.

 

This is a 16% increase from 1H last year.

 

This market shrunk somewhat in 2020 due to the spread of COVID-19 but has been rapidly expanding since then.

 

Quarterly HA eye drop prescriptions(Unit: KRW 100 mil, Data: UBIST)

By quarterly prescriptions, HA eye drops exceeded KRW 70 billion in Q2 last year and KRW 80 billion in Q1 this year.

 

At this rate, the total market size may increase to exceed KRW 300 billion this year for the first time this year.

 

The prescription performance of major companies in the market has also increased significantly.

 

The prescription performance of Optus Pharm, which owns the Tearin series, increased by 26% from KRW 14 billion in 1H last year to KRW 17.7 billion in 1H this year.

 

In the case of Taejoon Pharm, which owns New Hyalyuni, Hyalyuni, and New Hyaldrops, its sales increased by 21% from KRW 12.6 billion to KRW 15.3 billion.

 

Sales at Daewoo Pharm, which owns Hyalsan, rose 36% from KRW 10.6 billion to KRW 14.4 billion.

 

As a single product, Hyalsan recorded the highest prescription performance in 1H this year.

 

The number of companies whos half year sales exceeded KRW 10 billion increased from 5 in 1H last year to 7 in 1H this year.

 

As of 1H this year, Optus Pharm, Taejoon Pharm, Daewoo Pharm and SamChunDang Pharm, Huons Meditech, Hanmi Pharm, Kukje Pharm recorded prescriptions of more than KRW 10 billion.

 

Changes in HA eye drop prescriptions in H1 (Unit: KRW 100 mil, Data: UBIST)

‘Protect the KRW 300 bil annual market’...Pharma companies jointly prepare to respond to gov't reimbursement reevaluations However, whether the companies may continue their growth next year remains unknown, because the government included HA eye drops as a subject for reimbursement reevaluations.

 

The government has selected 8 ingredients, including HA eye drops, as targets for reimbursement revelations this year.

 

These include rebamipide, limaprost oxiracetam, acetyl Locartinie hydrochloride, loxoprofen sodium, levosulpiride, epinastine hydrochloride, and HA eye drops Among them, oxiracetam and acetyl L-carnitine hydrochloride are expected to fail to pass the reimbursement revelations as they failed to pass the clinical reevaluations conducted by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

 

Among the 8 ingredients, HA eye drops have the largest scale in terms of number of items and market size.

 

46 pharmaceutical companies have been selling 77 HA eye drop products in 1H this year.

 

The government has already received related data from each pharmaceutical company and started the practical review.

 

The outline of HA eye drops’ adequacy of reimbursement will be revealed next month at the earliest.

 

After holding an objection period for the pharmaceutical industry, the final result of the reimbursement reevaluation will be determined by the end of this year.

 

From the industry’s perspective, the companies will inevitably experience serious aftermath if the government concludes that the drug lacks grounds to be determined adequate for reimbursement.

 

This is why the companies have been jointly preparing a response to the reevaluation results.

 

About 10 companies, centered around Optus Pharm, have been concentrating on developing a countermeasure with large law firms in Korea.

 

As in the case of choline alfoscerate, there is a possibility that the companies will file a class action lawsuit against the government.

 

If they do file a class action lawsuit, the suit will likely be subject to the drug expenditure refund and redemption law that passed the National Assembly this year.

 

The law, which will be enforced on November 20th, allows for the recovery or refund of drug costs that were already paid according to the outcome of the lawsuit if a pharmaceutical company delays government actions such as drug price cuts by applying for a suspension of execution along with an administrative lawsuit.

 

Some companies have also started to develop alternatives in preparation for the market withdrawal of HA acid eye drops.

 

In June of last year, Samil Pharmaceutical and Kukje Pharm received permission for Reba-K eye drops and Reba-i eye drops that contain rebamipide to treat dry eye syndrome.

 

Daewoo Pharm is also known to be developing an eye drop product with the same ingredient.