Keytruda leads sales for the 9th consecutive quarter

...Homegrown new drug K-CAB ranks 5th

Pharmaceutical sales in Q1… new drugs of multinational pharmaceutical companies such as Opdivo and Dupixent sell better

Keytruda makes ₩40.4 billion… lower amount than in Q1 of the previous year due to price cuts

MDS’s cancer immunotherapy Keytruda has again topped the rank in pharmaceutical sales this year.

 

Its increase in sales has been reduced somewhat due to the price cut disposition that followed Keytruda's reimbursement expansion, still, the drug was able to maintain its lead for the 9th consecutive quarter.

 

Also, new drugs from multinational pharmaceutical companies, such as Plavix, Opdivo, Prolia, and Dupixent showed strength this quarter.

 

According to the market research institution IQVIA on the 20th, Keytruda made the most among pharmaceuticals in Korea in the first quarter of this year, recording sales of ₩40.4 billion.

 

Although the amount has decreased 8.4% YoY, still, the drug was able to maintain its overall lead.

 

Keytruda is an immune checkpoint inhibitor that inhibits PD-1 (programmed death 1) proteins expressed at the surface of activated T cells, thereby inhibiting its binding to PD-L1 and activating the immune system to treat cancer.

 

The drug, which was first released in March 2015, is currently approved for 18 indications in 14 cancer types in Korea, including melanoma, lung cancer, and head and neck cancer.

 

Keytruda’s sales had first remained in the ₩3 billion range but started soaring after the drug was approved for insurance benefit as a second-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer.

 

Its sales exceeded ₩10 billion in Q1 2018 and then exceeded ₩30 billion in Q2 2019.

 

In Q1 2020, the drug outsold the then-lead Lipitor and rose to the top that it maintained for 9 consecutive quarters until now.

 

The reduction in sales of Keytruda this year is considered to be due to Keytruda’s price cut.

 

Keytruda’s insurance ceiling price had fallen 25.6% with its reimbursement expansion to first-line treatment of NSCLC in March this year.

 

Although sales had reduced somewhat due to the price cut, its rise in sales is expected to continue to surge due to the expanded scope of reimbursement.

 

Sales of the hyperlipidemia treatment Lipitor recorded 2nd place with ₩38.5 billion in Q1 this year, making a 9.7% YoY increase.

 

The sales gap between Keytruda and Lipitor had been nearly ₩9 billion in Q1 last year, but this gap was reduced to ₩1.9 billion with the slower rise in Keytruda’s overall sales this year.

 

Lipitor (atorvastatin) is a hyperlipidemia treatment that was released by Pfizer Korea in 1999.

 

Although its insurance price fell to half after patent expiry and the fierce competition created by the 100 or more generics, the drug continues to exert its strong influence in the prescription drug market.

 

Viatris Korea, which was launched in November 2020 through a merger between Global Pfizer’s business division Upjohn and the global healthcare company Mylan, is in charge of its sales.

 

Sanofi’s antiplatelet Plavix recorded 3rd place with its sales increasing 37.7% YoY to record ₩26.8 billion in Q1 this year.

 

Plavix’s patent had also expired in 2007, despite the 100 or more generics that entered its market in the past decade, the drug is still recording high growth.

 

Also, new drugs released by multinational pharmaceutical companies have made the ranks and have shown high growth.

 

Sales of Sanofi’s atopic dermatitis treatment Dupixent rose 77.0% YoY to record ₩23.9 billion in Q1 this year and newly entered the Top 10.

 

Dupixent is the first targeted biologic for the treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis that is not well controlled with prescription topical therapies or cannot use topical therapies.

 

It selectively inhibits interleukin-3 and interleukin-4 proteins, which are known causes of adult atopic dermatitis.

 

Sanofi Genzyme received marketing authorization for Dupixent in March 2018 for the treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in adults and released the drug in August of the same year.

 

Although its initial performance was not up to par, its sales surged with its reimbursement approval for severe atopic dermatitis in January 2020.

 

Dupixent’s sales, which had been only ₩3.3 billion in Q1 2020, increased over fourfold in a single year to record ₩13.5 billion in Q1 last year and exceeded quarterly sales of ₩10 billion.

 

The drug has been recording sales in the ₩20 billion range since Q3 last year.

 

Sales of Ono Pharmaceutical’s cancer immunotherapy Opdivo (nivolumab) also increased 43.5% YoY to record ₩25.1 billion in Q1 this year.

 

Amgen’s osteoporosis treatment Prolia and MSD’s HPV vaccine Gardasil 9 also showed high growth with a 25.9% and 39.2% respective YoY increase in sales.

 

Among new homegrown drugs, HK Inno.N’s gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) drug K-CAB’s sales rose 25.2% YoY to record 25.1 billion in Q1 this year and ranked 5th among the most-sold prescription drugs in Korea this quarter.