Shingles vaccine Shingrix occupies 29% of market in 3 months

A shingles vaccine that showed a 97% prevention effect

Posted KRW 6.3 billion in Q1 sales (IQVIA)

Beat Zostavax and ranks 2nd in the market...contributed to the market rebound

Differentiates itself as the only inactive vaccine... concern over its high price reduced

GSK’s shingles vaccine ‘Shingrix’ occupied 29% of the market in Q1 this year.

 

In only 3 months of its release, it beat MSD’s ‘Zostavax’ and ranked 2nd in the market.

 

The company has made a smooth start by actively conducting marketing activities in partnership with a domestic pharmaceutical company.

 

According to the market research institution IQVIA on the 25th, the shingles vaccine market in Korea in Q1 reached KRW 21.9 billion, a 147% increase from the KRW 8.9 billion in Q1 of the previous year.

 

The shingles vaccine market, which had been on a downward curve due to COVID-19, has started rising again this year.

 

In Korea, three shingles vaccines are currently available in the market - SKYZoster, Zostavax, and Shingrix.

 

In particular, Shingrix made rapid advances after generating full-fledged sales for the first time this year.

 

Shingrix's sales in Q1 were KRW 6.3 billion.

 

Sales of Shingrix were recorded from Q4 last year, but considering that it started sales in mid-December, full-fledged sales occurred for the first time in Q1 this year.

 

Data: IQVIA

Shingrix recorded higher sales than MSD's Zostavax in Q1 and rose to 2nd place.

 

Its share in the domestic shingles vaccine market also reached 29%.

 

On the other hand, Zostavax’s only raised KRW 6 billion, similar to Q1 of the previous year.

 

Although Zostavax sold more products, Shingrix quickly surpassed sales with its high-price strategy.

 

SK Bioscience’s ‘SKYZoster’ also posted KRW 9.5 billion in sales in Q1 this year, which is a 152% increase from the same period in the previous year, contributing to the market expansion.

 

Shingrix is a shingles vaccine that GSK ambitiously released in December last year.

 

Last year, GSK selected GC Biopharma and Kwangdong Pharmaceutical as domestic marketing partners and set out to occupy the market.

 

Expectations were high that Shingrix’s release will rebound the shingles vaccine market that had been on a downward trend due to COVID-19.

 

In only six months of its launch, Shingrix has landed in more than 7,000 clinics and 200 general hospitals in Korea and greatly expanded its market.

 

The company’s Q1 sales were KRW 6.3 billion, which exceeded the company’s initial target.

 

The greatest benefit of Shignrix is its strong shingles prevention effect.

 

In a Phase III clinical trial (ZOE-50) that was conducted on adults aged over 50 years of age, Shingrix showed a 97.2% efficacy compared to the non-vaccinated group at 3.2 years of follow-up.

 

In another Phase III clinical trial (ZOE-70) conducted on adults aged 70 years and above, Shingrix showed an 89.8% efficacy at 3.7 years of follow-up.

 

This is superior to the 5% protection in adults aged over 50 years of age and 41% in adults aged 70 years and above demonstrated with the use of Zostavax.

 

The prevention rate of SKYZoster is also known to be similar to Zostavax.

 

Also, Shingrix’s safety profile was confirmed through 5 clinical trials that were conducted on immunocompromised patients aged 18 years and older.

 

Based on such evidence, patients who received autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or those with solid cancer, blood cancer, or solid organ transplant patients who have an increased risk of shingles are also eligible to receive vaccination with Shingrix.

 

Shingrix's rapid growth was analyzed to have been driven by its overwhelmingly high preventive effect and the distinction that it is the only inactivated vaccine that can be vaccinated to immunocompromised people.

 

In the early days of Shingrix's release, there were concerns in the market due to its higher price than existing vaccines.

 

The price of Shingrix, which is administered two times in total, is set at around KRW 500,000 to 600,000.

 

This is more than twice as high as the existing vaccine, which costs KRW 150,000 to 200,000.

 

For this reason, the vaccine is more used in general hospitals than in clinics.

 

Vaccination with Shingrix is expected to become more active in front-line hospitals and clinics as the price burden felt by consumers gradually decreases.

 

A GSK official said, "Shingrix showed superior results in clinical trials.

 

Based on this, Shingrix is maintaining a high market share in the markets where live vaccines have already been released, such as the US, Canada, and Belgium.

 

We will continue to make efforts to reduce the disease burden of shingles for healthcare professionals and those at risk by stably settling in the Korean market.”