Yuhan Leclaza's first-quarter sales were 3.2 billion won

Cumulative sales of 7.3 billion won since benefit application in the third quarter of last year

New Anti-cancer Drug Challenges 10 Billion in Annual Sales

Difference from EGFR targeted anticancer drugs of multinational corporations

Yuhan's new anticancer drug Leclaza posted sales of 3 billion won in the first quarter.

 

It has continued to rise since it entered the domestic market in earnest in the second half of last year.

 

It is expected to surpass 10 billion won in annual sales for the first time among new anti-cancer drugs developed in Korea.

 

According to IQVIA, on the 23rd, Leclaza recorded 3.2 billion won in sales in the first quarter.

 

Leclaza is a non-small cell lung cancer treatment approved as the 31st new drug developed in Korea in January last year.

 

Patients with local progressive or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer who developed T790M resistance after administration of the first and second generation epithelial cell growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosin kinase inhibitor (TKI) are eligible for administration.

 

It acts as a mechanism to suppress the proliferation and growth of lung cancer cells by interfering with the signal transmission involved in lung cancer cell growth.

 

Leclaza made its market debut in July last year with the listing of health insurance benefits.

 

Leclaza made 4.1 billion won in sales in the second half of last year alone.

 

The first sales of 1.5 billion won occurred in the third quarter of last year and 2.6 billion won worth of sales were sold in the fourth quarter.

 

Cumulative sales have been estimated at 7.3 billion won since the third quarter of last year.

 

Since anticancer drugs usually used in large medical institutions can be prescribed after the passage of the drug committee, it takes a considerable amount of time for sales to occur at the beginning of the release.

 

Leclaza can be prescribed at more than 30 medical institutions, including Seoul National University Hospital, Sinchon Severance Hospital, Samsung Medical Center, and Asan Medical Center, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul St.

 

Mary's Hospital, Hwasun Chonnam National University Hospital, Chilgok Kyungpook National University Hospital, and Pusan National University Hospital.

 

At this rate, it seems likely that annual sales will surpass 10 billion won in the second year of its release.

 

None of the new anticancer drugs developed by domestic pharmaceutical companies has yet exceeded 10 billion won in annual sales.

 

Domestic developed anticancer drugs licensed before Leclaza include Supect of Ilyang Pharmaceutical, Chong Kun Dang's Camtobell, Samsung's Riavax, and Hanmi's Oilta.

 

Among them, Supect recorded 7.4 billion won in sales last year.

 

Sales in the first quarter of this year are 1.9 billion won.

 

Supect, which was approved as the 18th new drug developed in Korea in January 2012, is a drug used as a treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia.

 

However, compared to the anticancer drugs of multinational pharmaceutical companies used for similar purposes to Leclaza, there are hurdles to overcome in the future.

 

EGFR targeted anticancer drugs approved for use in Korea before the release of Leclaza include Iressa and Tarceva, the first-generation drugs, Giotrip and Vizimpro, and Tagrisso.

 

Tagrisso posted 26.4 billion won in sales in the first quarter, up 8.0% from a year earlier.

 

Tagrisso is a secondary treatment prescribed for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who developed resistance after administration of existing EGFR tyrosin kinase (TKI), such as Iressa, Tarceva, and Giotrif.

 

It is called the same third-generation drug as Leclaza in that it overcomes the resistance of existing EGFR-TKI.

 

Tagrisso, which received domestic permission in 2016, saw its sales increase significantly after applying health insurance benefits in December 2017.

 

Tagrisso surpassed 10 billion won in sales in the third quarter of 2018 and has been recording 20 billion won in sales since the second quarter of 2019.

 

It recorded sales of about 100 billion won for two consecutive years in 2020 and last year.

 

Beringer Ingelheim's Geotrip, which is classified as a second-generation EGFR target anticancer drug, recorded 5.8 billion won in sales in the first quarter, up 13.2% from the previous year.

 

Iressa and Tarceva, the first-generation drugs, showed sales of 3.4 billion won and 1 billion won in the first quarter, respectively.

 

Yuhan Corporation has secured a total of $150 million in technology fees with Leclaza.

 

Yuhan Corporation exported Leclaza to Janssen Biotech in November 2018.

 

At this time, he received a deposit of $50 million without obligation to return it.

 

Yuhan Corporation received $35 million in milestone from Janssen in April 2020.

 

Janssen paid additional milestones to Yuhan Corporation when he began clinical trials of combination therapy with Amivantamab and Leclaza at the time.

 

In November 2020, Janssen paid an additional $65 million to Yuhan Corporation when it began recruiting subjects for this clinical trial.