Sales of PPI antiulcer agents rise 30% in 2 years

Hanmi’s Esomezol leads the market

PPI prescriptions mark ₩323.6 billion in 1H…7% year-on-year increase

Prescriptions of esomeprazole, rabeprazole continue to stay strong

The ranitidine impurity issue gave wings to the rising prescription of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs).

 

The share of PPI prescriptions in the antiulcer agent market grew 30% in only 2 years after the drugs containing ranitidine – which used to occupy the largest share of the H2 receptor antagonists - were pulled from the market.

 

Hanmi’s incrementally modified drug ‘Esomezol’ gained marked influence over the antiulcer drug market with the impurity issue and COVID-19 as momentum.

 

◆PPI prescriptions increase 5%...reaps benefits despite prolonged COVID-19 crisis According to the pharmaceutical market research institution UBIST on the 4th, outpatient prescription of PPIs recorded ₩616.7 billion in Q2 this year, which is a 5.0% year-on-year increase from the same period of the previous year.

 

Compared to Q2 2019, sales had risen 29%.

 

Despite the overall contraction of the prescription drug market due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, PPI prescriptions have maintained quarterly sales of over ₩160 billion during the past year.

 

The cumulative PPI prescriptions in the first half of this year amounted to ₩323.6 billion, which was a 7.3% year-on-year increase.

 

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) block the final step of acid secretion and maintain a high pH level in the stomach to treat peptic ulcer disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

 

Since recording ₩335.8 billion in outpatient prescription sales in 2015, sales of PPIs have increased over 10% each year to account for the largest share of anti-ulcer drugs prescribed in Korea.

 

The rate of increase became greater since 2019.

 

The ranitidine impurity issue was pointed to as the reason for the surge in PPI prescriptions.

 

Analysts believe the suspended sales of 'ranitidine' products among H2 receptor antagonists that used to hold the largest proportion of prescriptions and had a similar prescription target to PPIs, led to PPIs receiving the benefit.

 

◆Sales of Esomeprazole jump 33%·rabeprazole 22%...polarization intensifies in PPI prescriptions The ranitidine impurity first led to an improvement in the prescription performance of all the 7 PPI ingredients.

 

However, after two years, the different PPI ingredients saw mixed results.

 

Prescription of esomeprazole and rabeprazole, which accounted for a large proportion of prescriptions, have continued to rise after their prescription performance surged in Q4 2019, while the upsurge in the rest of the ingredients was only temporary, showing the intensifying gap between the ingredients.

 

The esomeprazole ingredient that is prescribed the most has continued to make double-digit growth despite the COVID-19 crisis.

 

Outpatient prescriptions of esomeprazole amounted to ₩70.4 billion in Q2.

 

This is a 4.0% increase from the previous year and a 33.3% increase from the year before the last.

 

In Q3 2019, esomeprazole sold around ₩53.7 billion, however, after ranitidine was removed from the market in Q4 2019, its sales rose sharply to reach ₩67.9 billion.

 

The upward growth continued afterward to reach ₩70.8 billion in Q4 last year.

 

The rabeprazole ingredient sold ₩38.1 billion in Q2, marking a 4.5% year-on-year increase.

 

Rabeprazole’s sales in Q4 2019 rose to ₩36.5 billion and continued its rise to reach ₩ 41 billion in Q4 last year.

 

Compared to 2Q 2019, prescriptions rose 22.0% in just 2 years.

 

Although the increase was not as prominent as in esomeprazole or rabeprazole, Ilaprazole also benefited from the market withdrawal of ranitidine.

 

Ilaprazole’s outpatient prescriptions reached ₩8 billion in Q2.

 

This was an 8.8% year-on-year decrease, but a 2.3% increase from 2 years before.

 

The other PPI ingredients received less impact from the impurity issue.

 

Omeprazole sold ₩6.4 billion in Q2.

 

This was a 10.2% and 6.6% decrease from the same period a year and 2 years ago.

 

In the same period, pantoprazole sold ₩9.6 billion, an 11.2% and 6.5% decrease from the previous year and 2 years ago.

 

Outpatient prescriptions of lansoprazole in Q2 was ₩3.9 billion.

 

This was an 11.6% year-on-year increase, but a 12.2% decrease from the 2 years ago, showing less performance than usual.

 

◆Prescriptions of Hanmi’s 'Esomezol' rise 45%...Products see mixed results from COVID-19 The key PPI products have experienced a sharp change in their prescription performance during the past 2 years, with the lessening impact of the impurity crisis and the increasing impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

 

Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s ‘Esomezol’ showed the most marked growth.

 

In 1H this year, Esomezol sold ₩23.3 billion in outpatient prescriptions.

 

Despite the COVID-19 crisis, prescription of the drug increased 14.2% year-on-year to exceed ‘Nexium’ and become the leader in the PPI prescription market.

 

Esomezol is a salt-modified drug of esomeprazole.

 

The impurity issue led to an upsurge in prescription demand for Esomezol, with outpatient prescriptions rising 44.8% in just 2 years.

 

AstraZeneca’s Nexium sold ₩18.7 billion in outpatient prescriptions in Q2.

 

This is a 17.6% decrease from the year before and a 5.8% decrease from 2 years ago.

 

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, prescriptions of Nexium decreased significantly, enough to hand over its long-held lead in the PPI prescription market.

 

Nexium is the original esomeprazole brand that is distributed and sold by Daewoong Pharmaceutical in Korea.

 

The other items were also not free from the impact of COVID-19.

 

Il-Yang Pharmaceutical’s ‘Noltec’ sold ₩16.2 billion in 1H this year.

 

This was a 4.3% year-on-year decrease, but also a 4.7% increase from 2 years ago.

 

Noltec was able to maintain its 3rd place among prescriptions of single-agent PPIs.

 

Noltec, an ilaprazole PPI agent developed by Il-Yang Pharmaceutical, was released as the nation’s 14th new indigenous drug at the end of 2009.

 

Takeda Pharmaceuticals Korea’s ‘Lanston LFDT’ also rose to the ranks in H1 this year, selling ₩13.8 billion in outpatient prescriptions.

 

In the same period, Daewon Pharm's ‘Eswonamp’ sold ₩8.3 billion.

 

After the ranitidine issue, Eswonamp had enjoyed a profit with the annual prescription amount exceeding ₩20 billion for the first time, but prescription performance fell 17.3% this year.

 

In addition to the impurity issue, analysts believe that the COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a variable that increased the gap between prescriptions of the products.

 

HK Inno.N’s release of the antiulcer agent ‘K-Cab (tegoprazan) that has a new mechanism of action, has also intensified the change in the dominion of antiulcer drug prescriptions.