Hemlibra & Afstyla were released

JW Pharma challenges Hemlibra and SK Plasma challenges Afstyla

Hemlibra has the advantage of SC injection

Domestic pharmaceutical companies have challenged the hemophilia treatment market one after another.

 

JW Pharma released Hemlibra and SK Plasma released Afstyla in the last year.

 

The domestic hemophilia treatment market is maintained by GC Pharma and Takeda.

 

While Bayer, Sanofi, and Pfizer, which have challenged the market in the past, are struggling, attention is focusing on whether domestic pharmaceutical companies will produce meaningful results.

 

◆GC Pharma is virtually monopolizing the domestic market with a size of ₩230 billion According to the pharmaceutical industry on the 30th, SK Plasma started selling Afstyla to major general hospitals in South Korea after entering its benefit early this month.

 

SK Plasma is a company that specializes in blood products that were separated from SK Chemical in 2015.

 

In 2009, SK Plasma exported the drug, which was a candidate material at the time, to Australian pharmaceutical company CSL Behring.

 

The development was completed by CSL Behring.

 

SK Plasma CEO Kim Yun-ho (left) and CSL Behring Korea CEO Son Ji-young are signing a sales contract for Afstyla

Prior to SK Plasma, JW Pharma has entered this market.

 

JW Pharma was approved by Japan's Chugai Pharmaceutical in January 2019.

 

It released its products in earnest in May last year.

 

The two companies should target the hemophilia treatment market, which is dominated by the GC Pharma.

 

The domestic hemophilia drug market is effectively monopolized by GC Pharma.

 

GC Pharma co-sells its own items, GreenMono and Greenene F, as well as Takeda's Advate and Adynovate.

 

They are all top sales products.

 

Pharmaceutical industries estimate size of South Korea's hemophilia treatment market is about ₩230 billion.

 

Among them, four products sold by GC Pharma are estimated to generate sales of ₩140 billion to ₩150 billion.

 

◆ Hemophilia medicine must be passed by the committe of the Korea Hemophilia Foundation Pfizer, Sanofi, Bayer and others challenged this market before JW Pharma and SK Plasma.

 

Except for Pfizer, however, their performance does not meet expectations.

 

This is because the proportion of prescriptions through the Korea Hemophilia Foundation is large.

 

The Korea Hemophilia Foundation, which consists of patients with hemophilia, operates a separate drug review committee.

 

This Committee shall deliberate on medicines that may be prescribed by members of the Foundation.

 

It is necessary to pass this committee to prescribe.

 

The drugs currently being prescribed by an associate doctor are Adynovate and Adynovate in Takeda, GreenMono in GC Pharma, Greengene F and Xyntha Solofuse in Pfizer.

 

Bayer's Kogenate FS and Sanofi's Eloctate failed.

 

Kogenate FS and Eloctate are prescribed only in general hospitals, which account for 40% of the total market.

 

Bayer and Sanofi are not making as much sales as expected.

 

Pfizer's Xyntha Solofuse took nearly five years to be reviewed after its release in 2014.

 

"The domestic market for hemophilia is called the tomb of a new drug," said PM, a global pharmaceutical company.

 

"That's how hard it is to overcome the wall of the Korea Hemophilia Foundation." ◆JW Pharma and SK are targeting general hospitals first In the case of Hemlibra and Afstyla, sales can be stable only after passing the Korea Hemophilia Foundation's deliberation committee in the long term.

 

The two companies are not planning to directly target the Korea Hemophilia Foundation.

 

JW Pharma emphasizes the advantages of SC (subcutaneous) injection for general hospitals and it emphasizes that administration is possible regardless of whether antibodies are produced or not.

 

Patients also have high expectations for this.

 

Hemlibra is the first SC formulation.

 

Existing patients had to find their own veins and inject themselves.

 

Moreover, many of the patients were children, making them uncomfortable.

 

JW Pharma said it is convenient to inject under the skin, not by finding and injecting blood vessels on its own.

 

Hemlibra has limited benefit standards.

 

The National Assembly pointed out, and the MOHW said it would reconsider expanding the benefit range.

 

SK Plasma is planning to focus on targeting general hospitals.

 

SK Plasma is said to have started marketing activities at major general hospitals at the time of the release of Afstyla.

 

"We have no specific plans right now, such as sponsorship for the Korea Hemophilia Foundation," an official at SK Plasma said.

 

"We plan to focus on expanding our influence in general hospitals."