Immuno-oncology drugs make ₩400 billion after 7 years

Tecentriq·Imfinzi rise up the charts

₩25.7 billion in 2017 → ₩407 billion in 2021… 42.5% YoY increase

Opdivo comes to the chase in the market solely led by ₩200 billion Keytruda

Tecentriq·Imfinzi succeeds in targeting unattended markets to make rapid growth

The immuno-oncology drug market exceeded ₩400 billion in annual sales only 7 years since its debut in Korea.

 

With Keytruda in the lead making over ₩200 billion in sales, the latecomers Tecentriq and Imfinzi are chasing the lead with its rapid growth.

 

According to the market research institution IQVIA on the 4th, the total immuno-oncology treatment that consists of 6 immuno-oncology drugs in Korea has made ₩407 billion last year, a ₩285.6 billion increase and a 42.5% YoY increase from the previous year.

 

This record was made in 7 years since the first immuno-oncology drug Yervoy (Ipilimumab) was approved in December 2014.

 

The release of Yervoy marked the start era of immuno-oncology treatments in Korea.

 

Since then, Ono Pharamcueitals’ Opdivo (nivolumab), MSD’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab), Roche’s Tecentriq (atezolizumab), AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi (durvalumab), Merck’s Bavencio (avelumab) followed, recording a total of 6 immuno-oncology drugs to be sold in the Korean market.

 

◆'Keytruda’s sales exceed ₩200 billion… ‘Opdivo’ shows later growth ' Half of the ₩400 billion immuno-oncology drug market is currently occupied by Keytruda.

 

Keytruda made ₩200.1 billion to top pharmaceutical sales in Korea last year.

 

This is the second consecutive year Keytruda has topped the leaderboard since it first recorded took the lead in 2020.

 

Looking back on its sales for the past 5 years, Keytruda first sold ₩12.2 billion in 2017, then rose 476.2% the next year after reimbursement to make ₩70.3 billion in 2018.

 

In 2019 it made ₩124.8 billion, then ₩155.7 billion in 2020, a 77.5% and 24.8% YoY growth, respectively.

 

Then, the drug’s sales exceeded ₩200 billion for the first time last year.

 

With its reimbursement applied to first-line treatment in NSCLC, its sales are again expected to show rapid growth this year.

 

The 2nd place was Opdivo, which recorded ₩85 billion in sales last year.

 

This is a 27.4% YoY increase from the previous year.

 

Opdivo’s sales jumped from ₩12.5 billion to ₩57.5 billion after it was listed for reimbursement in 2017, then slowed down to maintain the ₩67 billion range in 2019 and 2020, then again gained growth last year.

 

However, Opdivo has made relatively slow growth compared to Keytruda, which received approval on the same day.

 

Opdivo is seeking external growth by increasing its indications.

 

After receiving approval in the first-line for non-small cell lung cancer in December 2020, it also added a first-line indication for gastric cancer last year and became the first immuno-oncology drug to add a first-line indication in the field.

 

The company also added 5 more indications this year.

 

◆Latecomers Tecentriq and Opdivo succeed by targeting unattended markets The relative latecomers Tecentriq and Opdivo are intently chasing the leaders at a rapid pace.

 

The drugs, which have entered the market 2-4 years later than Ketruda·Opdivo, have rapidly penetrated the unattended markets.

 

Tecentriq, which made ₩0.7 billion the first year, recorded ₩4.4 billion the following year.

 

In 2019, its sales rose 238.6% to record ₩14.9 billion.

 

Also, Tecentriq’s sales rose over twofold last year to ₩37 billion in 2020.

 

Last year, its sales rose 81.6% to record ₩67.2 billion.

 

Tecentriq was the first PD-L1 immuno-oncology drug to be introduced to Korea.

 

The drug was first indicated for bladder cancer (urothelial carcinoma), an area that Keytruda and Opdivo hadn’t entered at the time.

 

Also, the drug was the first to enter the field of triple-negative breast cancer.

 

It was also relevantly quickly introduced into the reimbursement setting, in one year since its approval.

 

The company embraced the government’s ‘'performance-based reimbursement proposal' in 2019 to accelerate reimbursement expansion for its drug.

 

Imfinzi, which was approved in December 2018, also made over ₩50 billion in annual sales only 3 years after its release.

 

Imfinzi’s sales which recorded ₩3.4 billion in 2019, jumped 7 times to record ₩24.6 billion in just a single year.

 

Last year, its sales grew 91% to record ₩47.1 billion.