GS Cross’s Neulapeg sales jump fivefold in 3 years

Benefits from joint marketing agreement with Boryung Pharmaceutical

Q2 sales mark ₩5.4 billion… 65% YOY increase

1H cumulative sales record ₩10.2 billion… chases Neulasta by a ₩2.2 billion gap

The locally developed neutropenia treatment ‘Neulapeg’ is enjoying its belated prime.

 

The drug, which was unable to make a presence earlier at the time of its release is continuing to break new records every quarter since signing a sales partnership with Boryung Pharmaceuticals.

 

Neulapeg’s quarterly sales have risen over fivefold in the past 3 years, and are attempting to overtake the market leader position held by ‘Nelasta.’ According to the pharmaceutical market research institution IQVIA, sales of GC Cross’s ‘Neulapeg’ increased 64.8% YoY to reach ₩5.4 billion in Q2.

 

Compared to Q2 2018, quarterly sales of the product increased over fivefold.

 

‘Neulapeg’ is a neutropenia treatment made with pegfilgrastim that was developed with GC Cross’s original technology.

 

The drug is used on cancer patients during chemotherapy to prevent side effects of decreasing immunity that occur from a decrease in the neutrophil level.

 

It received marketing authorization from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in August 2014 and began its sale in March of the next year.

 

‘Neulapeg’ applies the PEGylation technology that conjugates polyethyleneglycol to specific areas to improve the purity, stability, and half-life of the drug over existing therapies.

 

Neulapeg is considered a 2nd generation drug as may be administered only once per chemotherapy cycle to see an effect compared to existing neutropenia treatments that are administered 4-6 times per cycle.

 

Despite its strength of being nearly ₩300,000 cheaper than Kyowa Kirin’s ‘Neulasta(pegfilgrastim),’ Newlapeg wasn’t able to make much of a presence earlier at the time of its release.

 

In its third year, 2017, Neulapeg had sold ₩3.2 billion, and then ₩4 billion in 2018.

 

Quarterly sales of Neulapeg, which was less than ₩1 billion, started to soar after Boryung Pharmaceutical joined in as a sales and marketing partner with GC cross.

 

In Q4 2018, its sales jumped from ₩1.1 billion to 1.3 billion in the following quarter, 1Q 2019, and then continued upwards ever since.

 

GC Cross had signed a joint sales agreement for ‘Neulapeg’ with Boryung Pharmaceuticals in October 2018.

 

GC Cross had attempted to work with Boryung and utilize the company’s sales capability in the field of anticancer to expand its share in the neutropenia treatment market.

 

According to IQVIA, Neulapeg accumulated sales of ₩8.9 billion in 2019.

 

This is a 123.4% growth in sales in just one year after its partnership with Boryung Pharmaceuticals.

 

Last year, despite the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, it increased its market share by twofold and raised ₩15 billion in sales.

 

This is a fourfold expansion in annual sales compared to 2018, before signing a partnership with Boryung Pharmaceuticals.

 

And the company is continuing to make new records, earning ₩4.9 billion in Q1, and ₩5.4 billion in Q2.

 

Cumulative sales in 1H of this year were ₩10.2 billion, a 62.8% increase from the previous year.

 

On the other hand, Neulasta sold ₩12.3 billion, a 0.2% decrease from the previous year.

 

This has narrowed the gap between the two products to ₩2.2 billion.

 

If this trend continues, experts believe the position of the two products may be reversed within this year.

 

On the other hand, Dong-A ST’s neutropenia treatment ‘Dulastin, which was released at a similar period as GC Cross’s Neulasta, has still been unable to mark a presence in the market.

 

Dulastin sold ₩1.5 billion in 1H this year.

 

Until 2018, the drug had made sales similar to Neurapeg.

 

However, due to Neurapeg’s sudden and rapid growth in sales, the sales gap has widened to around 7 times.

 

Dong-a ST had received marketing authorization for Dulastin in August 2014, and has started selling it in March of the following year.

 

Dulastin is a second-generation G-CSF derivative that was applied to the company’s own extended-release technology for longer action.

 

Its extended-release technology allows for the drug to stay in the blood for a longer period of time, which allows patients to administer the drug only once per chemotherapy cycle.

 

‘Lonquex (lipegfilgrastim),’ another second-generation neutropenia treatment that was released in 2016, is also not seen much sales for many years.

 

Longquex sold ₩1.5 billion in 1H this year.

 

This was a 6.2% YOY increase.

 

Lonquex is a molecular structurally improved G-CSF that was developed by applying Handok Teva’s unique PEGylation technology.

 

It is also administered once per chemotherapy cycle.