Sales of Soliris and Ultomiris rise despite changes

...sales rights of the rare disease drugs Soliris and Ultromiris changed hands

Ultomiris KRW 13 billion, Soliris KRW 2.4 billion in Q1...Generation shift to soon be complete

AZ retrieves sales rights of the drugs from Handok... such transfer of rights is expected to have little influence

Soliris(left) and Ultromiris

Quarterly sales of the rare disease treatments ‘Soliris (eculizumab)’ and ‘Ultomiris (ravulizumab)’ had risen significantly in Q1 this year.

 

Although sales of Soliris remained similar to last year, sales of Ultomiris, its follow-on drug, soared in the same period.

 

The analysis is that the generation change between the two drugs has neared completion.

 

According to the market research institution IQVIA on the 12th, sales of Ultomiris in Q1 were KRW 13 billion, up 35% from KRW 9.6 billion in Q1 last year.

 

During the same period, Soliris’s sales slightly fell from KRW 2.8 billion to KRW 2.4 billion.

 

Soliris is a rare disease treatment indicated for the treatment of ▲ paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, ▲ atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), ▲generalized myasthenia gravis, and ▲ neuromyelitis optica spectrum disease.

 

Ultomiris is a follow-on of Soliris.

 

As it has a half-life that is 4 times longer than that of Soliris, the drug may be administered every 8 weeks.

 

However, the indication for the drug is limited to paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria/ Both drugs were introduced to Korea by Handok from Alexion.

 

Soliris was approved in January 2010 and applied for reimbursement in 2018.

 

Ultomiris was approved in May 2020 and its reimbursement was applied from June 2021.

 

The combined sales of the two drugs peaked at KRW 15.9 billion in Q3 2021 and then was on a gradual decline.

 

In Q4 last year, its sales decreased to KRW 12.9 billion.

 

However, sales showed a rebound in Q1 this year, recording combined sales of KRW 15.4 billion.

 

Quarterly Sales of Soliris·Ultromiris (Unit: KRW 100 mil, Data: IQVIA)

The sales rebound received more attention because the domestic sales rights for the two drugs were transferred from Handok to AstraZeneca in Q1 last year.

 

AstraZeneca acquired Alexion in 2020 for USD 39 billion (approximately KRW 42 trillion).

 

After the sales rights agreement between Handok and Alexion expired in January this year, AstraZeneca Korea retrieved the sales rights to sell the two rare disease drugs directly in Korea.

 

However, the prevailing opinion in the industry is that the sales right transfer had little or limited effect on the sales rebound.

 

AstraZeneca established a rare disease Business Unit at the end of last year and completed the composition of the business unit in February of this year in time for the retrieval of Soliris and Ultomiris’s sales rights.

 

The company was able to start full-scale marketing activities only in March.

 

Therefore, the sales rebound could be rather interpreted as performance derived under the strong influence of Handok.

 

Industry experts believe that the impact of the sales right transfer would only be measurable after Q2.