Entry of generics halt Nexavar’s sole lead in liver cancer

1H sales of Nexavar drop from ₩10.3 billion to ₩5.6 billion… Impact of drug price cuts due to generic launch

Sales prospect dim due to the rise of competitor Lenvima and market entry of Tecentriq

Product image of Bayer’s hepatocellular carcinoma treatment Nexavar

Nexavar (sorafenib), which had been leading the liver cancer treatment market for over 10 years since its launch, has handed over its lead to ‘Lenvima (lenvatinib)’.

 

This was a combined result of Nexavar’s drug price falling 30% due to the launch of its generics, and the rise in sales of its competitor Lenvima.

 

Nexavar’s position in the liver cancer treatment market is expected to shrink further while competing with its generics as more products awaiting to enter the market.

 

◆1H sales of Nexavar drop from ₩10.3 billion to ₩5.6 billion… Impact of drug price cut According to the pharmaceutical market research firm IQVIA on the 28th, Bayer’s hepatocellular carcinoma treatment Nexavar recorded ₩5.6 billion in sales in 1H 2021.

 

Compared to the ₩10.3 billion it earned in 1H of the previous year, sales fell 45%.

 

In the same period, sales of Eisai’s Levima increased by 27%, from ₩ 5.7 billion to ₩7.2 billion.

 

With sales of Nexavar plummeting and Lenvima significantly increasing, their shares in the market also changed.

 

This is the first significant change observed in the market in 13 years since Nexavar was first used as a treatment for liver cancer treatment and 3 years since Lenvima was launched in Korea.

 

Bayer had originally launched Nexavar in Korea in 2006 as a treatment for kidney cancer.

 

Then, in 2008, it added the indication for hepatocellular carcinoma.

 

The drug began to make real sales in 2011 after reimbursement was extended to the indication.

 

Nexavar enjoyed exclusivity in the liver cancer treatment market for 10 years until Lenvima's release in 2018, earning over ₩20 billion in sales annually.

 

However, the competition began after Lenvima was approved for reimbursement in 2019.

 

In the beginning, Nexavar overpowered the market because the drug sequentially allows Stivarga and Cabometyx as follow-up treatments.

 

However, Lenvima gradually increased its influence in the market and narrowed the gap with Nexavar with its improved clinical data.

 

In February, Nexavar faced a direct hit, as its insurance ceiling price was cut by 30%.

 

The government reduced Nexavar’s drug price ex officio by 30%, from the original ₩18,560 to ₩12,992, because Hanmi Pharmaceutical successfully launched its generic after overcoming Nexavar's patent.

 

Quarterly sales of Nexavar and Lenvima (Unit: ₩100 mil, Data: IQVIA)

◆Competition intensifies in the market with the entry of Tecentriq and Nexavar generics Also, Nexvar's sales are expected to continue to fall for the time being.

 

First, the drug price will be cut once more in early next year.

 

Korea’s insurance drug price system mandates that the price of an original drug should be reduced by 30% at the time of a generic drug's release, then to 53.55% of the previous price 1 year after the generic is released.

 

In addition, Roche's immuno-oncology treatment Tecentriq (atezolizumab) is about to enter the first-line treatment market for hepatocellular carcinoma.

 

In February of this year, Tecentriq, in combination with Avastin, passed the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service's Cancer Disease Deliberation Committee as a liver cancer treatment.

 

This means that reimbursement for Tecentriq is imminent.

 

If approved, Tecentriq's entry into the liver cancer treatment market will only further narrow Nexavar's position in the market.

 

Also, generic competitors await Nexavar.

 

Hanmi Pharmaceutical overcame the patent for Nexavar and was approved for its generic Soranib.

 

In the 5 months since release in February, the drug successfully landed ₩200 million in sales.

 

Hanmi Pharm’s period of exclusivity rights expired at the end of July.

 

However, the possibility that competitors from companies such as Kwangdong Pharmaceutical, which is also challenging Nexavar with its own generics, will add on to the competition remains.

 

Kwangdong Pharmaceutical began a bioequivalence test for its generic last year.