HCV drug Mavyret prescription goes down by 31% amid COVID-19

Outpatient prescription makes KRW 16.4 billion in 2020 H1, KRW 7.3 billion less than last year at KRW 23.7 billion

Although Mavyret (glecaprevir) dominated the hepatitis C treatment market as soon as it was launched, the treatment took a steep fall in prescription volume.

 

The pharmaceutical industry sources argue the 31-percent drop compared to last year would have been impacted by decreased number of patients and COVID-19.

 

According to the pharmaceutical market research firm UBIST on July 27, Mavyret’s outpatient prescription sales from last January through June marked 16.4 billion won.

 

Still the treatment is accounted for 74 percent of the Korean hepatitis C treatment market, but the situation is not exactly rosy.

 

Compared to last year, the prescription sales have gone by down 31 percent.

 

In the first half of 2019, Mavyret generated 23.7 billion won.

 

In 12 months time, the figure plummeted by 7.3 billion won.

 

The fall has continued for five consecutive months.

 

After peaking at 13.1 billion won in the second quarter of 2019, the prescription has been sliding down from 12 billion won in third quarter last year, 8.8 billion won in fourth quarter last year, 8.8 billion won in last first quarter, and 7.7 billion won in last second quarter.

 

Hepatitis C treatment prescription volume in 2020 H1 and Mavyret’s quarterly prescription volume (Source: UBIST)

The research firm claims two complicated causes have affected the state.

 

First, the hepatitis C patient size has shrunk.

 

Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) medications treating hepatitis C, such as Mavyret, demonstrates high cure rates and has short therapy duration.

 

Naturally, the overall patient size is constantly narrowing as increasing number of patients are cured.

 

Korea’s Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) reported the number of hepatitis C patients last year was at 44,483, which went down by 10 percent in three years from 49,569 in 2016.

 

The hepatitis C treatment market has been following the descending curve since the third quarter in 2016.

 

The market volume valued at 68.5 billion won has dwindled to 10.3 billion won in the last second quarter.

 

The current market is now at about one-seventh of its peak.

 

The last quarter actually hit the historic low since the DAA medication entered the market.

 

In last month, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) that first opened the hepatitis C treatment market withdrew ‘Daklinza plus Sunvepra’ combination therapy from the Korean market.

 

The company explained it was because the competition has gotten increasingly intense, while the demand lessened.

 

Yearly count of hepatitis C patients (Source: HIRA) and quarterly trend in hepatitis C treatment market volume (Source: UBIST)

Moreover, this year has been rough for the market amid COVID-19.

 

As patients have been refraining from visiting hospitals and clinics due to COVID-19, they were less exposed to the main cause of hepatitis C like infection through blood transfusion and syringe.

 

Regardless of blood borne infection, the hepatitis C infection transmission was apparently impacted by social distancing.