Sales of anti-cancer drug 'Taxol' increases by 53%

Sales by Boryung from this year... successful rebound after decline until just before

Sales of no.1 drug Genexol increases 9%... Transfer of sales right from Boryung to HK inno.N

Product Photos of Taxol (LT) and Genexol (RT)

Sales of the original Paclitaxel anti-cancer drug 'Taxol' increased 53% in one year.

 

This change has seemed to have occurred as Boryung took over domestic sales from the beginning of this year.

 

According to IQVIA, a pharmaceutical market research institute, on the 2nd, Taxol's sales in the first quarter was KRW 2.9 billion.

 

This is a 53% increase from KRW 1.9 billion in the first quarter of last year.

 

Taxol is a paclitaxel-based cytotoxic anti-cancer drug, and is widely used in various types of cancer such as ovarian cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, and stomach cancer.

 

Despite having been nearly 30 years since it was approved in Korea in 1996, and is still widely used.

 

Until last year, sales of Taxol had been on a steady decline.

 

The downhill started in the second quarter of 2018 from KRW 3 billion, declining to KRW 1.9 billion in quarterly sales last year.

 

The pharmaceutical industry cites Boryung as the reason for Taxol's successful rebound.

 

Boryung has been in charge of sales of Taxol since the first quarter of this year.

 

It is analyzed that Boryung brought rebound in sales of Taxol through its already-established solid sales grounds in the field of anti-cancer drugs.

 

Quarterly Sales of Taxol and Genexol (Unit: 100m million won, Data: IQVIA)

Boryung's past actions are quite interesting.

 

From 2008 to 2015, Boryung jointly sold Taxol with BMS for 8 years.

 

From 2016 up to last year, Boryung jointly sold Genexol, a competing product of Taxol, with Samyang Holdings (formerly Samyang Biopharmaceuticals Corp.).

 

From this year onwards, Boryung has taken charge of the sales of Taxol again.

 

While Boryung was in charge of sales of Genexol, Genexol surpassed its original product Taxol and rose to no.1 in the market.

 

For Boryung, a situation unfolded in which it now has to compete with the product that it had put on the top of the market.

 

Genexol, which was previously sold by Boryung, is now being sold by HK inno.N from this year.

 

Genexol's first quarter sales were KRW 5.8 billion, which is a 9% increase from the first quarter of last year, KRW 5.3 billion.

 

HK inno.N has jointly sold Genexol from 2001, when Samyang Holdings first developed the product as a generic Paclitaxel drug, to 2013.

 

The joint sales agreement reunited the two companies after 10 years.

 

The pharmaceutical industry's attention is focused on whether Boryung, which has again taken charge of the sales of Taxol, will be able to catch up with Genexol by maintaining the same upward trend as in the first quarter.

 

For HK inno.N and Samyang Holdings, on the other hand, the key is how firmly they maintain the market share of Genexol.