K-Rare Disease Drug Hunterase that is more popular overseas

Sales of 23.1 billion won in the 3rd quarter

↑78% year-on-year

Hunterase, developed by GC Pharma, is speeding up its efforts to target global markets.

 

It is successful as a treatment for rare diseases developed in Korea, generating more than three times more sales than domestic demand in overseas markets.

 

According to GC Pharma on the 4th, Hunterase's sales rose 77.7% year-on-year to 23.1 billion won in the third quarter.

 

It more than doubled from 11 billion won in the previous quarter.

 

In the third quarter of this year, cumulative sales jumped 63.9% year-on-year to 47.2 billion won.

 

Sales exceeded 46.2 billion won recorded over the past year.

 

Hunterase, which was approved in Korea in 2012, is the world's second treatment for Hunter syndrome.

 

Hunter syndrome, called Mucopolysaccharidosis type II, is a rare disease known to occur in the remaining 100,000 to 150,000 people.

 

Hunter syndrome, a congenital metabolic abnormality disease, is a genetic disease that shows unpredictable symptoms such as skeletal abnormalities and decreased intelligence, but dies early around the age of 15 in severe cases.

 

The number of patients in Korea is only about 70 to 80.

 

Hunterase's recent steep growth is based on a high rise in overseas markets.

 

Hunterase's export performance in the third quarter was 17.4 billion won, more than doubling from 7.8 billion won in the same period last year.

 

It tripled in one quarter from 5.8 billion won in the previous quarter.

 

Hunterase's domestic sales in the third quarter rose 9.6% year-on-year to 5.7 billion won, which means that it has realized a significant growth in overseas markets.

 

Exports accounted for 75.3% of Hunterase's third-quarter sales.

 

The company explained, "The use of Hunterase abroad has increased significantly and demand has soared in Russia." Hunterase is on sale in 14 foreign countries, including Russia, Egypt, Turkey, and Brazil.

 

It is analyzed that Hunterase's competitive drugs are not many, and that it is recording stable sales growth due to the characteristics of rare disease treatments that are expensive and must be administered for a lifetime.

 

Prior to the appearance of Hunterase, Eleapase was the only treatment.

 

GC Pharma is also speeding up Hunterase's entry into the Asian market.

 

In October last year, it obtained an item license for Hunterase from the NMPA.

 

Earlier this year, it received permission for Hunterase ICV items from the MHLW.

 

Hunterase ICV is a new formulation that inserts a device into the head and administers the drug directly to the ventricle.

 

It has the advantage of overcoming the limitations of existing intravenous formulations that do not improve symptoms of intelligence degradation because drugs cannot penetrate the cerebrovascular barrier (BBB).

 

China's licensed item is a Hunterase intravenous injection (IV) formulation, and the market preoccupation effect is expected in that there was no previously approved Mucopolysaccharidosis type II treatment in China.

 

It is predicted that it will serve as a catalyst for overseas sales growth as it starts selling to China and Japan, which have large markets.