Rx performance is poor due to spin-off of Organon

Excluding Atozet

↓ Sales of most prescriptions for major items such as Singulair, Vytorin, and Cozaar

This is in contrast to the 9% increase in prescription amount of the existing MSD’s Januvia

MSD Korea's spin-off of Organon has come for three months.

 

However, sales of most Organon items, such as Singulair, Vitorin, and Cozaar, are sluggish in the domestic outpatient prescription market.

 

In contrast, Sales of Januvia by MSD increased by nearly 10%.

 

According to UBIST on the 4th, MSD's outpatient prescriptions in the third quarter of 2020 were ₩107.7 billion.

 

Compared to ₩105.3 billion in the third quarter of last year, it increased by 2%.

 

What is interesting is the change in prescription amount by item that MSD and Organon decided to share.

 

The amount of prescriptions for major items in MSD increased, while the amount of prescriptions for items of Organon mostly decreased.

 

First of all, Januvia prodcuts in MSD, increased prescriptions in the third quarter of this year compared to the third quarter of last year.

 

MSD has a DPP-4 inhibitor-based diabetes treatment Januvia, Metformin combination drug Janumet, and Janumet XR.

 

Januvia's prescription amount for the third quarter was ₩12.1 billion, a 5% increase from ₩11.5 billion a year earlier.

 

During the same period, Janumet increased by 10% (₩11.8 billion → ₩20.6 billion and Janumet XR by 13% (₩11.5 billion → ₩13 billion).

 

The total prescription amount for Januvia products increased 9% from ₩41.9 billion to ₩45.7 billion.

 

The annual prescription amount for the three items was ₩168.2 billion last year, and this year's surpassed ₩170 billion is the most likely.

 

Other products except Januvia will be transferred to Organon after spin-off.

 

Among the products passed to Organon, Atozet is the only one with increased prescription performance.

 

Changes in prescription amount for each major product of MSD in the third quarter (Unit: ₩100 million, Source: UBIST)

On the other hand, it is observed that prescription sales of most of the items passed to Organon have decreased.

 

The main items passed from MSD to Organon are ▲Atozet ▲Singulair ▲Vytorin ▲Cozaar ▲Fosamax and ▲Proscar.

 

Among them, the remaining prescriptions except Atozet appeared to be decreasing or stagnating.

 

Singulair, a treatment for asthma and allergic rhinitis, is the item with the largest decline.

 

It decreased by 30% from ₩8.5 billion in the third quarter of last year to ₩5.9 billion in the third quarter of this year.

 

It is an analysis that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was affected by attaching a black box warning to the Montelukast formulation earlier this year.

 

The domestic COVID-19 situation also contributed to the reduction of prescriptions.

 

In the case of asthma and allergic rhinitis, the proportion of pediatric and adolescent patients is larger than that of other diseases, and since COVID-19 outbreak, visits to hospitals by pediatric and adolescent patients have decreased significantly.

 

MSD's hypertension treatment Cozaar is still stagnant in prescription performance.

 

MSD has five items in series: Cozaar, Cozaar XQ, Cozaar Plus, Cozaar Plus F, and Cozaar Plus-Pro.

 

The total prescription amount for the five items in the third quarter of this year was ₩12.9 billion, down 1% from ₩13 billion in the third quarter of last year.

 

Of the five, Cozaar and Cozaar Plus-Pro prescriptions increased, while Cozaar XQ, Cozaar Plus, and Cozaar Plus F decreased.

 

Fosamax also decreased the amount of prescription.

 

MSD has the osteoporosis treatments Fosamax, Fosamax Plus, and Fosamax Plus D.

 

The total prescription for the three items in the third quarter was ₩3.9 billion, down 4% from ₩4.1 billion in the third quarter of last year.

 

The prescription amount of Vytorin (Ezetimibe/Simvastatin), a hyperlipidemia combination drug, decreased 16% from ₩6 billion in the third quarter of last year to ₩5.1 billion in the third quarter of this year.

 

Changes in prescription amount for each major item of MSD in 3Q (Unit: ₩100 million, Source: UBIST)

Atozet (Ezetimibe/Atorvastatin), another combination of MSD's hyperlipidemia, is almost the only one that goes to Organon, where prescriptions have increased.

 

Atozet's prescription amount increased 16% from ₩17 billion in the third quarter of last year to ₩19.7 billionin the third quarter of this year.

 

MSD announced a spin-off plan at the global headquarters level earlier this year.

 

The name of the spin-off company was decided as Organon.

 

Organon focuses on patent expired medicines, women's health products, and biosimilars.

 

Existing MSD focuses on blockbuster treatments, vaccines, and hospital-supplied medicines such as Lynparza, Lenvima, Gardasil, Bridion, Zerbaxa, and Bravecto, including Keytruda, an immune anticancer drug.

 

However, Januvia is a drug that has expired, but it was decided to remain in MSD.

 

MSD Korea is also undergoing a spin-off procedure.

 

Last month, MSD Executive Director Kim So-eun was selected as the new CEO of Organon Korea.

 

MSD Korea, which has reached its new head, is planning to announce a list of employees who will move to Organon by setting guidelines in November.

 

MSD announced the completion of the spin-off in February next year.

 

However, MSD Korea's labor union recently decided to engage in labor disputes in earnest, and as the domestic COVID-19 situation prolongs, there is a possibility that the spin-off operation may be disrupted.

 

Business division plan that MSD released in February of this year (material Merck conference call)