HPV vaccine market expands 55% midst COVID-19

Q1 sales of HPV vaccines record ₩22.9 billion … highest-ever quarterly sales record

Q1 sales of ‘Gardasil 9’ record ₩17.4 billion, 76% expansion YoY

The market for the vaccine to prevent cervical cancer has expanded by the greatest amount ever.

 

The increased inoculation rate of the high-priced 'Gardasil 9' has led the total market growth.

 

MSD, which owns two HPV vaccines - 'Gardasil' and 'Gardasil 9' - accounted for 97% of the total market, and boasted its overwhelming influence in the domestic market.

 

According to the industry research institution IQVIA on the 7th, the HPV vaccine market size in Q1 of this year was 22.9 billion won.

 

This was a 55.5% increase from the same quarter of the previous year and the highest-ever quarterly sales record.

 

The COVID-19 outbreak had temporarily slowed down market growth in the first half of last year, but sales turned back upwards in the second half.

 

Since then, the market has been breaking its own record for three consecutive quarters.

 

Compared to the 11.6 billion won in Q1 of 2017, the market size has doubled in 4 years.

 

The high-priced ‘Gardasil 9’ acted as a catalyst in the HPV vaccine’s market growth.

 

In Q1, sales of MSD’s ‘Gardasil 9’ recorded 17.4 billion won, which was a 75.6% YoY increase compared to the 9.9 billion won of the same quarter last year.

 

In the same period, MDS’s other HPV vaccine, ‘Garadsil’ sold 4.8 billion won.

 

Although ‘Garadsil’ also showed a 19.0% YoY increase from the 4.1 billion won in Q1 last year, the market was completely overwhelmed by the surge in sales of ‘Gardasil 9.’ In the same period, GSK’s ‘Cervarix’ sales fell 12.0% in one year to record 0.7 billion won in Q1 this year.

 

Among the three products authorized in the Korean HPV vaccine market, the other two, which are MSD products, account for 97.1% of the domestic HPV vaccine market.

 

In other words, MSD has a monopoly over Korea’s HPV vaccine market.

 

MSD has grasped the lead in Korea’s HPV vaccine market in 2016 with the government selecting ‘Gardasil’ and ‘Cervarix’ as products for Korea’s National Immunization Project, and MSD releasing its follow-up ‘Gardasil 9,’ in the latter half of the same year.

 

After selling 2.5 billion won in the first year of its release, sales of ‘Gardasil 9’ grew rapidly to 15.1 billion won in 2017, and 20.9 billion won in 2018.

 

Since becoming the market leader product in 2019, raising 40.5 billion won in sales, twice the amount compared to the sales of ‘Gardasil,’ it had continued its rise ever since.

 

In Q1 this year, the market share of ‘Gardasil 9’ was 76.0%, which was three times than that of ‘Gardasil.’ ‘Gardasil 9’ is a human papillomavirus virus (HPV) vaccine that was manufactured by adding five HPV serotypes 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58 in addition to the four HPV serotypes 6, 11, 16, 18 already in ‘Garadasil.’ It is being distributed at a high price with the differentiation that it covers the most amount of HPV types among existing HPV vaccines.

 

The cost of inoculation paid by the consumers varies by hospital, but a single shot of 'Gardasil 9' may at most be 100,000 won more expensive than ‘Cervarix.’ Nevertheless, the demand for ‘Gardasil 9’ among adults not subject to NIP increases.

 

News that the vaccine can prevent other HPV-related diseases such as anal cancer, genital warts, premalignant lesion, in addition to cervical cancer had spread through word of mouth, and the ‘couple vaccination’ promotions in obstetrics and gynecology clinics have been increasing the number of male inoculations every year as well.

 

Since last year, the vaccination age for HPV vaccines was expanded to 45 years, and the rate of reinoculations has also increased significantly.

 

One other factor that may have lead to a sales surge in Q1, is the pre-supply orders from hospitals and clinics in preparation for the price hike announced by the pharmaceutical company.

 

MSD Korea has raised the supply price of 'Gardasil 9' and 'Gardasil' by 15% from April this year, citing rising production input costs.

 

MSD Korea has changed its domestic distributor for ‘Gardasil 9' and 'Gardasil' to HK Inno.N this year and has been conducting co-promotion with the company ever since.