Kisqali’s sales surge, Ibrance’s sales falter

...Next-gen breast cancer treatment market upheaval

Ibrance’s makes ₩28.9 billion in 1H sales... 11% down compared to the previous year

The solid leader Ibrance sees the first-ever reduction in semiannual sales in 6 years

Rising Kisqali beats Verzenio and records ₩9.1 billion in sales

Competition for breast cancer-treating cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) 4/6 inhibitors in the market are heating up.

 

Kisqali, which was the last to enter the market, has grown rapidly in the first half of this year and exceeded sales of the runner-up product in the market, Verzenio.

 

Ibrance, the sole leader in the market, has also seen a downfall in semiannual sales for the first time this year.

 

According to the market research institution IQVIA, the domestic market size for CDK 4/6 inhibitors in 1H this year was ₩44.5 billion, an 8.4% increase from the ₩41.1 billion of the previous year.

 

CDK 4/6 inhibitors control cell division and growth and selectively inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells.

 

The drugs are mainly used to treat hormone receptor (HR)-positive or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer, which accounts for 60% of all breast cancers.

 

Since the entry of the first CDK 4/6 inhibitor, Pfizer’s Ibrance (palbociclib) 6 years ago, Lilly’s Verzenio (abemaciclib), and Novartis’s Kisqali (ribociclib) followed, totaling the number of CDK 4/6 inhibitors in the market to 3.

 

Ibrance, which overtook the market as a 'first-in-class' drug, experienced its first decrease in sales, recording ₩28.9 billion, down 11.3% from the ₩32.6 billion of the previous year.

 

Ibrance, which had entered the market 3 years ahead of the other two products, has been leading the CDK4/6 inhibitor market emerging as a new treatment option for breast cancer patients who had to use chemotherapy, which had many systemic side effects.

 

Its sales also grew every year and recorded ₩40 billion in annual sales during its unrivaled 3 years in the market.

 

Last year, the drug saw sales of ₩65.6 billion.

 

However, with the first-ever reduction in sales shown in the first half of this year, it is highly likely that its annual sales will also fall for this year.

 

On the other hand, Kisqali, which was the last to enter the market, has shown marked growth during the same period.

 

Kisqali sold ₩9.7 billion in the first half of the year, a 236.6% increase from the ₩2.9 billion it had made the previous year.

 

Such an increase in Kisqali’s sales is expected to hurt Ibrance’s sales.

 

Kisqali’s sales had first exceeded ₩1 billion in quarterly sales in Q4 2020 when it first started receiving insurance reimbursement.

 

Since then, its sales had risen continuously to surpass that of Verzenio for the first time in Q3 last year.

 

This year, the drug continued to make sales far exceeding that of Verzenio, making ₩4.4.

 

billion in Q1 and ₩5.3 billion in Q2 this year.

 

The analysis is that the rise in Kisqali‘s sales is attributable to the fact that it is the only first-line treatment option among CDK4/6 inhibitors that can be used in premenopausal breast cancer patients.

 

Reimbursement for the drug had been extended to premenopausal breast cancer patients who had failed ‘adjuvant chemotherapy’ since Q3 last year, further accelerating sales of the drug.

 

Although it is the only drug among CDK4/6 inhibitors that require ECG monitoring before initiating treatment, it had improved reliability by demonstrating consistent overall survival (OS) improvement in premenopausal, perimenopausal, and postmenopausal patients.

 

Verzenio’s sales rose 5% YoY to record ₩5.9 billion in 1H this year.

 

Verzenio’s sales have also been steadily increasing, but at a rate slower than that of Kisqali, and has been recording quarterly sales in the ₩2 billion range for 5 consecutive quarters.