Shingles vaccine market overwhelmed by COVID-19… drops 60%

Sales of the two types of shingles vaccine in Q2 record ₩9.2 billion

Resurgence of COVID-19 and its full-scale vaccinations affected the drop in sales...SKYZoster sees lowest-ever level of sales since its release

The domestic market for shingles is shrinking at a fast pace.

 

With vaccinations for COVID-19 ongoing in earnest from earlier this year and the new ‘Delta variant’ intensifying the resurgence of COVID-19 cases, sales of the two shingles vaccines have dropped together.

 

According to the pharmaceutical research institution IQVIA on the 26th, the shingles vaccine market in Q2 this year was ₩9.2 billion, a 59.1% YOY decrease from the ₩22.6 billion in the same period of the previous year.

 

Sales had decreased 53.0% compared to the ₩19.6 billion in Q2 2019.

 

Cumulative sales in 1H of this year have also decreased 42.2% from the previous year to record ₩20.1 billion.

 

The shingles vaccine market in Korea consists of two products – MSD’s ‘Zostavax’ and SK Bioscience’s ‘SKYZoster.’ Its market had grown rapidly with the introduction of ‘SKYZoster’ in 2017 that broke the monopoly held by ‘Zostavax.' The local vaccine ‘SKYZoster’ had gradually increased its influence in the market, to rise and record ₩27.9 billion in Q4 2019.

 

However, this shingles vaccine market that was once on a roll, is riding a rollercoaster of ups and downs after the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

In Q1 last year, when COVID-19 started to spread, the market sales had halved to ₩12.2 billion.

 

In Q2 of the same year, the market showed some signs of recovery, recording ₩22.6 billion, but then started falling again to ₩20.3 billion in Q3 and ₩17.3.

 

billion in Q4.

 

Entering this year, the drop became steeper, to record the lowest-ever sales since the two-drug competition structure was established in the market.

 

The industry pointed out that the shingles vaccine market and other vaccine markets are more vulnerable to external factors such as pandemics, etc.

 

than the chronic disease treatment market.

 

Such vaccines are used to prevent a disease rather than be used in emergencies, therefore, the spreading reluctance to visit medical institutions naturally leads to a reduced vaccination rate.

 

Full-scale inoculations with COVID-19 vaccines developed by multinational pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer and BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Janssen have started earlier this year and have affected the decrease in the number of people receiving other vaccines.

 

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, as of midnight on the 25th, a total of 26,701,704 people have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

 

This is around 52.0% of the total population in Korea.

 

With the social atmosphere prioritizing COVID-19 vaccinations, Most of the vaccine market for adults, including the one for the shingles vaccine, is experiencing a slump.

 

The two types of shingles vaccines -‘Zostavax’ and ‘SKYZoster’ – have shown a similar trend in their distribution of quarterly sales since last year.

 

‘Zostavax’ sold ₩5.4 billion in Q2 last year, which is a 57.9% YOY decrease from the same period of the previous year.

 

This is also a 17.0% drop from the previous quarter, during which ‘Zostavax’ sold ₩6.5 billion.

 

This year's cumulative sales in 1H were ₩11.9 billion, a 40.8% decrease from the previous year.

 

Starting this year, MSD’s ‘Zostavzx’ has been marketed and sold by HK Inno.N in Korea.

 

SKYZoster’s sales dropped 60.8% YOY to record ₩3.8 billion in Q2 this year.

 

This is the lowest ever performance shown for the product other than in Q4 of 2017, immediately after its release.

 

Cumulative sales of the first half of this year were ₩8.2 billion, a 44.2% decrease from the previous year.

 

Not only in sales but SKYZoster’s market influence, which had skyrocketed ever since its release, has also decreased due to the pandemic.

 

Based on cumulative sales of 1H, SKYZoster’s share in the market has decreased 1.4%p YOY from 42.2% to 40.8%.

 

SK Bioscience expected sales of SKYZoster to recover in 2H with the increase of people who completed COVID-19 vaccinations and the start of the flu vaccination season.’ Also, another competitor is soon to be introduced to the domestic shingles vaccine market, forewarning more changes to come.

 

Earlier this year, GSK has applied for the marketing authorization of its shingles vaccine, ‘Shingrix,’ to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

 

‘Shingrix’ has been approved and is being sold in major countries around the world since 2017, when it was first approved by the U.S.

 

Food and Drug Administration.

 

Due to its high demand, the vaccine has been met with shortages in stock abroad.

 

If sold in Korea, GSK’s ‘Shingrix’ in Korea may intensify competition and become a game-changer in the market.