Korean-made IMD Rosuzet and Zemimet prevail over COVID-19

Outpatient prescription drug market 2020 H1 analysis by product

Lipitor defend the top, Rosuzet makes two-digit growth

Off-patent drug Viread and Baraclude show stagnating growth

Apparently a number of incrementally modified drugs (IMDs) developed with Korean-made technology excelled in the prescription drug market amid novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

 

A dyslipidemia combination drug Rosuzet and an antidiabetic combination drug Zemiglo recorded two-digit growth and settled on the top chart in the prescription drug market.

 

On the contrary, other off-patent drugs by multinational pharmaceutical companies seemed to have stagnated in the growth.

 

According to pharmaceutical market research firm UBIST on July 17, Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea’s Lipitor was prescribed the most in the first half of the year, making 94.1 billion won.

 

Although the sales fell by 0.9 percent compared to 95 billion won in last year, Liptior made more than double the sales of Daewoong Bio’s Gliatamin.

 

Lipitor product image

Lipitor, indicated to treat dyslipidemia, is an atorvastatin Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea has launched for the Korean market in 1999.

 

When its patent was expired, over 130 generics flooded the market, but the dyslipidemia drug has never been ranked below second place in the prescription drug market.

 

Daewoong Bio’s cognitive enhancer Gliatamin generated total 48 billion won in the first half of the year, and came second on the rank.

 

Compared to last year same time with 46 billion won, the drug made 4.4 percent growth.

 

Gliatamin is a choline alfoscerate generic.

 

Another competitor Chongkundang Gliatirin has made 39.8 billion won with 6.9 percent growth from last year, but it could not narrow the gap of 8 billion won with Gliatamin.

 

Rosuzet (left) and Zemimet product images

Among the top products, Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s Rosuzet had the highest yearly growth.

 

Rosuzet generated 46.9 billion won in the first half of the year and leapt 24.4 percent from last year.

 

Bascially, it was prescribed 8 billion won a month.

 

Released in late 2015, Rosuzet is a combination drug (rosuvastatin plus ezetimibe) indicated for treatment of hyperlipidemia.

 

Hanmi Pharmaceutical signed a deal with the ezetimibe patent owner MSD over the use of the drug, and entered the market first.

 

The drug is dominating the same substance market among other competitors by far.

 

The monthly Rosuzet prescription volume maintained over 10 percent growth compared to last year, regardless of the difficulties in sales and marketing caused by COVID-19.

 

When the confirmed case of COVID-19 in Korea skyrocketed from February through March, the prescription volume growth broke through the 30-percent and 40-percent line.

 

Continuing the current trend, the drug could generate over 100 billion won at the end of the year.

 

Zemimet, an antidiabetic combination drug by LG Chem, also scored a high growth rate.

 

In the first half of the year, Zemimet’s prescription surged by 18.5 percent from last year at 32 billion won to 37.9 billion won this year.

 

LG Chem independently developed the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitor by combining the novel antidiabetic treatment Zemiglo (gemigliptin) and metformin.

 

With the co-promotion deal signed in 2016, Daewoong Pharmaceutical has been in charge of the drug’s sales.

 

Atozet, MSD Korea’s combination drug for hyperlipidemia treatment, also demonstrated two-digit growth.

 

The accumulated prescription volume in the first half of the year was increased by 17.5 percent from last year and generated 36.4 billion won.

 

Atozet is a combination drug, consisting of atorvastatin and ezetimibe, which competes against Rosuzet.

 

The drug is currently in a co-marketing deal with Chong Kun Dang since 2018.

 

Top 20 outpatient prescription drug market in 2020 H1 (Unit: KRW 100 million) Source: UBIST

Similarly to previous years, the outpatient prescription drug market in the first half of this year was vastly dominated by off-patent drugs.

 

But their growths were underwhelming than previous years.

 

Two hepatitis B treatments once led the prescription drug market plummeted down the rank together.

 

Gilead Science Korea’s Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) made 43.1 billion won with a 27.3-percent plunge from last year at 59.2 billion won.

 

This year’s prescription of BMS Pharmaceutical Korea’s hepatitis B treatment Baraclude (entecavir) marked 34.8 billion won, dipping 10.8 percent from 39 billion won last year.

 

Eisai Korea’s cognitive enhancer Aricept (donepezil) and Astellas Pharma Korea’s benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) Harnal-D (tamsulosin) generated 8.0 percent and 8.2 percent less than last year, respectively.

 

AstraZeneca’s anticancer treatment Tagrisso (osimertinib) placed itself on the top sixth spot by generating 44.7 billion won with 7.9 percent growth from last year.

 

Tagrisso is a second-line treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer, who developed tolerance after administering epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) like Iressa (gefitinib), Tarceva (erlotinib) or Giotrif (afatinib).

 

After it was listed for healthcare reimbursement in December 2017, the treatment’s prescription volume has been surging significantly.

 

Despite the expensive treatment costing 120,000 won even for a reimbursed prescription, it is the only anticancer treatment ranked high in the outpatient prescription drug market, due to its convenience in oral administration.