Competition for interleukin inhibitors heats up in Stelara

The interleukin inhibitor market continues to grow

Stelara maintains the lead with sales of 11.1 billion won in the first quarter, a 10% increase in one year

Market growth with Cosentyx 13% Tremfya 43% Skyrizi 70%

Stelara, Cosentyx, Skyrizi, and Tremfya (clockwise from top left)

The interleukin inhibitor market also grew rapidly in the first quarter.

 

Compared to the first quarter of last year, the market size increased by 26% in one year.

 

While Stelara, the market leader, posted sales of KRW 11.1 billion, up 9.8% YoY, generics are rapidly catching up.

 

Skyrizi saw a 69.7% year-over-year increase in sales and Tremfya's 43.4%.

 

In particular, as generics are scrambling to add new content and expand the scope of reimbursement, competition in this market is expected to intensify in the future.

 

The interleukin inhibitor market increased by 26% in 1 year, and Stelara remains No.

 

1 in the market for 12 years According to IQVIA, a pharmaceutical market research institute on the 5th, the size of the interleukin inhibitor market in the first quarter was 36.4 billion won.

 

Compared to 28.8 billion won in the first quarter of last year, it increased by 26.4% in one year.

 

Interleukin inhibitors are primarily used to treat psoriasis.

 

It is divided into the IL-17 family and the IL-23 family according to the pathway that inhibits interleukin (IL).

 

Janssen Stellara, which is classified as a first-generation product, is a mechanism that inhibits IL-12/23.

 

Second-generation products, Novartis Cosentyx and Lilly Taltz inhibit IL-17, while Janssen's Tremfya and AbbVie Skyrizi, two successors, inhibit IL-23.

 

This market was formed in 2012 when Stelara was added to the health insurance coverage list.

 

Since 2015, successor products have been added one after another, and it is growing very rapidly.

 

The actual interleukin inhibitor market size was only 10.4 billion won in the first quarter of 2019, but it expanded 3.5 times in 4 years to 36.4 billion won in the first quarter of this year.

 

Analysts say that while Stelara, the market leader, is in good health, generics contributed to the expansion of the market by rapidly increasing sales.

 

Stelara recorded sales of 11.1 billion won in the first quarter of last year.

 

It increased by 9.8% from 10.1 billion won in the first quarter of last year.

 

However, it decreased compared to 12.4 billion won in the fourth quarter of last year, which is interpreted as a result of drug price cuts according to PVA at the end of last year.

 

Since last November, the government has lowered the price of Stelara by 0.2-4.4% by content.

 

2nd-generation drugs such as Cosentyx, Tremfya, and Skyrizi, heating up competition to expand coverage.

 

The second-generation products released following Stelara are fiercely competing as their sales have increased significantly.

 

Tremfya, which Janssen launched as a successor to Stellara, saw a 43.4% increase in sales within a year.

 

Sales increased from 5.8 billion won in the first quarter of last year to 8.4 billion won.

 

Novartis Cosentyx increased by 13.3% from 7.5 billion won in the first quarter of last year to 8.5 billion won in the first quarter of this year.

 

In particular, with the rapid growth of the competing product Tremfya, the gap between the two products narrowed from 1.7 billion won to 100 million won in one year.

 

AbbVie's Skyrizi, which was the latest to enter the market, is seeing the steepest growth in sales.

 

Skyrizi's sales in the first quarter of last year were 5.9 billion won, up 69.7% from 3.5 billion won in the first quarter of last year.

 

AbbVie launched this product in the second quarter of 2020.

 

Cosentyx, Trempier, and Skyrizi are scrambling to expand their ranges, foreseeing even fiercer competition in the future.

 

For Cosentyx, the high-dose product, which was newly approved in November last year, was additionally applied as a benefit from last month.

 

In addition to the existing 150mg dose, up to 300mg dose is applied as compensation, aiming to expand sales.

 

Tremfya has been covered for palmar and plantar pustulosis since this month.

 

Skyrizi's benefit was expanded in March.

 

Previously, benefits were recognized only for psoriasis, but from March, benefits were applied to active and progressive psoriatic arthritis.

 

Lilly Taltz saw a modest increase in sales from 1.8 billion won in the first quarter of last year to 2.4 billion won in the first quarter of this year.