Bayer to withdraw Levitra from Korean market

Bayer notified distributors of supply suspension from April

Chong Kun Dang to monopolize vardenafil market, only company to have all 3 erectile dysfunction drugs

Bayer Korea has decided to withdraw Levitra (vardenafil) from Korean market and leave Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical’s Yaila as the only erectile dysfunction treatment in Korea with vardenafil.

 

Bayer Korea has notified respective drug distributing vendors that the supply of Levitra would be suspended from coming April.

 

Superficially, the company stated the ‘upgrade process of manufacturing facility in Leverkusen, Germany’ is the reason for the withdrawal, but the pharmaceutical industry insiders see otherwise and suspect the recently fallen demand on the drug has affected the decision.

 

In fact, the sales volume of Levitra has been mediocre.

 

The pharmaceutical market research firm, IQVIA said the drug has only generated 800 million won, 600 million won, 500 million won and 300 million won from year 2015 to 2018, respectively.

 

The drug’s gap with other competitors Viagra and Cialis is significant, considering they have generated 9.9 billion won and 7.4 billion won in 2018, respectively.

 

The market share shriveled even more when Chong Kun Dang challenged the drug’s patent from 2018.

 

The Korean company has filed a negative scope confirmation on Levitra in January, 2018, and won the case in November of the year.

 

Immediately following the winning case, Chong Kun Dang released erectile dysfunction treatment Yaila with the same active ingredient from November, 2018.

 

Yaila ended up generating 300 million won that year, and has also generated 700 million until third quarter last year.

 

Considering Levitra has barely made over 100 million until third quarter last year, Yaila presumably has absorbed most of Levitra’s pie.

 

◆ Ending the Bayer-Chong Kun Dang partnership after seven years together Chong Kun Dang actually has co-marketed Levitra with Bayer from 2007 to 2014.

 

It was technically a two-track strategy to each sell vardenafil drug under different brand name of Levitra by Bayer and Yaila by Chong Kun Dang.

 

In the first year of the launch, the drug has earned more than five billion won.

 

But the sales volume gradually fell as the competitors Viagra and Cialis consumed the market aggressively.

 

From 2012, many of Viagra generics have been released.

 

In the following year, Yaila’s sales volume plunged to around 400 million won.

 

In the end, Chong Kun Dang canceled the license on Yaila in 2014.

 

Basically the company stepped out of the erectile dysfunction treatment market as they had not launched the Viagra generic, yet.

 

Shortly after in 2015, when Cialis’ patent was expired, Chong Kun Dang released the generic Cendom and got back into the market.

 

Cendom has been performing well and followed right after the market leader, Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s PalPal.

 

◆Re-release after four years, Chong Kun Dang is the only one with three-substance line-up Gaining confidence with Cendom, Chong Kun Dang launched Viagra generic Cengla in 2017.

 

And in the following year, the company released Yaila again as vardenafil generic and completed the full erectile dysfunction treatment line-up.

 

It did not sign a co-marketing deal with Bayer this time, however.

 

Moving on from a partnership, now the two companies are in competitive relationship.

 

But as the original Levitra is leaving the Korean market for good, Yaila would be the sole erectile dysfunction treatment with vardenafil.

 

And Chong Kun Dang is the only company in Korea to have all three substances of erectile dysfunction treatment.

 

Chong Kun Dang official said, “Each active ingredient has unique advantages.

 

Yaila’s biggest strength is its powerful effect compared to other treatments.

 

It can be prescribed to patients, who did not see the effect with sildenafil.” “Marketing the products with three substances would create a favorable synergy effect as it could better accommodate each individual patient’s needs,” the official added.