CKD top candidate for Amgen’s Evenity co-promotion partner

Amgen expects Evenity to win reimbursement before the year ends, prepares for co-promotion

Anticipating a synergy effect in Evenity with a sequential therapy strategy

A product image of Amgen Evenity.

 

As Amgen’s novel osteoporosis drug Evenity (romososumab) is expected to get listed for reimbursement by the end of the year, the multinational company is reportedly seeking for a co-promotion company.

 

The current partner company for Prolia (denosumab) co-promotion, Chong Kun Dang, is considered as the strongest candidate.

 

According to pharmaceutical industry sources on Oct.

 

22, Amgen is in process of searching for a South Korean co-promotion partner as they aim to receive the National Health Insurance (NHI) reimbursement within this year.

 

The sources claim Chong Kun Dang is on top of the list.

 

In September 2017, Chong Kun Dang signed a co-promotion deal with Amgen for other osteoporosis drug Prolia, which is still effective to this date.

 

Prior to its reimbursement listing in October 2017, Amgen shook hands with the South Korean company to leverage the sales in Prolia.

 

Boosted by the coverage approval and the co-promotion deal, Prolia’s sales surged soon after.

 

The sales marked 2.4 billion won in the fourth quarter of 2017, almost doubling the initial quarterly sales at launch of 1 billion won.

 

The quarterly sales skyrocketed to 12.3 billion won in April last year, after its reimbursement standard was expanded to first-line therapy.

 

The cumulative sales up to the first half of 2020 reached 100.6 billion won.

 

And because Amgen is to take the marketing strategy of introducing Evenity as a sequential combination therapy with Prolia, Chong Kun Dang is the most likely candidate.

 

Prolia is a bone resorption inhibitor, launched earlier, and Evenity is a bone-builder and a bone resorption inhibitor.

 

Amgen set down a therapeutic strategy to administer Evenity first to postmenopausal women fracture and men with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture (maximum 12 months), and to continue on with Prolia as maintenance therapy.

 

In fact, their clinical trial has been conducted as a sequential therapy.

 

Compared to the placebo group after 12 months, the Evenity group had 73 percent lower risk of new vertebral fracture.

 

The patient group that switched to Prolia (denosumab) at year 2 after 12 months of using Evenity showed 75 percent lower risk of new vertebral fracture, compared to the placebo group switching to Prolia.

 

Considering Evenity’s marketing strategy has to be in accordance with Prolia’s, the existing co-promotion partner Chong Kun Dang would be the most efficient option.

 

Sources confirmed, the two companies are already in talks to expand their deals to also cover Evenity.

 

When the final contract is inked, Chong Kun Dang is expected to initiate the co-promotion activities from next year after the novel osteoporosis drug is listed.

 

The industry source commented, “We are anticipating to a see a positive level of synergy effect created from Evenity as Amgen and Chong Kun Dang are already in a good collaboration for Prolia.”