Hepatitis B drug market remakes ₩300B after 6 years

Vemlidy shows good performance…drives market growth

Gilead's Vemlidy’s sales rise 15% in one year

Sales of tenofovir generics jump 21%

The outpatient prescription market for hepatitis B drugs expanded again last year to exceed KRW 300 billion.

 

This is the first time the market has exceeded the mark in 6 years since 2018.

 

Gilead Sciences’ Vemlidy drove the market growth with a 15% increase in sales from KRW 61.9 billion to KRW 71.3 billion in 1 year, while the combined prescription volume of tenofovir-based generic products increased by 21%.

 

Hepatitis B drug market re-enters KRW 300 billion range for the first time in 6 years According to the market research institution UBIST on Wednesday, the outpatient prescription market for hepatitis B drugs was KRW 303 billion last year.

 

This is a 4% increase from the KRW 292.3 billion in 2023.

 

The market has re-entered the KRW 300 billion range for the first time in six years since 2018.

 

The market was valued at over KRW 300 billion in 2018 but declined to KRW 273.1 billion in 2019.

 

This was due to the patent expiry of Gilead Science’ Viread, the market leader at the time, and the corresponding reduction in Viread’s drug price.

 

The market further shrank to KRW 266 billion in 2020.

 

In 2021, the market rebound.

 

In 2021, it grew by 4% to KRW 275.6 billion.

 

In 2022, it grew to KRW 283.8 billion and in 2023 to KRW 292.3 billion, a 3% increase for 2 consecutive years.

 

It expanded further to exceed KRW 300 billion last year.

 

Vemlidy grows 15% in one year...No.

 

2 in the market Gilead's Vemlidy led the market growth.

 

Last year, Vemlidy’s prescriptions totaled KRW 71.3 billion, up 15% from the previous year.

 

Vemlidy is Gilead’s new hepatitis B drug that was developed as a successor to Viread.

 

While the original Viread was highly effective in suppressing the hepatitis B virus, it was criticized for its side effects, including kidney dysfunction and decreased bone density.

 

Vemlidy overcame these shortcomings.

 

In clinical trials, no adverse events, including renal dysfunction and decreased bone density, were found in patients using Vemlidy.

 

Long-term safety was also highlighted as an advantage given the difficult-to-cure nature of hepatitis B.

 

In fact, sales of Vemlidy have steadily increased since its launch in Korea in 2017, making up for the decline in Viread’s prescription performance.

 

In 2019, it surpassed KRW 10 billion in prescriptions, and in 2021, it expanded to exceed KRW 30 billion.

 

This was followed by a further increase to KRW 49.2 billion in 2022 and KRW 61.9 billion in 2023.

 

In particular, last year, it reached KRW 71.3 billion, overtaking BMS Baraclude (KRW 71.9 billion), the No.

 

2 product in the market.

 

Given Baraclude’s recent sales decline, the industry expects Viread will overtake Baraclude and become the No.

 

2 product within this year.

 

While Gilead's prescription sales were down 1% YoY, the company’s still stays strong at more than KRW 90 billion.

 

By 2019, the company was generating more than KRW 100 billion in annual prescription sales.

 

Since then, it has switched to Vemlidy, and its prescription performance has been declining moderately.

 

In addition, original items from domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies have recently seen a slowdown in prescription sales.

 

Ildong Pharmaceutical's Besivo (besifovir) generated KRW 2.3 billion in sales last year, the same as in 2023.

 

The sales of Bukwang Pharm’s Sebivo (telbivudine) decreased from KRW 1.2 billion to KRW 1 billion, and the sales of Levovir (clevudine) remained at KRW 800 million each in 2023 and 2024.

 

Levovir’s patent term expires in April 2022.

 

Sales of GSK’s Zeffix (lamivudine) fell slightly from KRW 3.3 billion to KRW 3.2 billion in 1 year.

 

Sales of GSK’s other product, ‘Hepsera (adefovir)’ have not been counted since the company withdrew the drug’s domestic license in 2022.

 

Vemlidy generics enter market in full scale…sales of tenofovir-based generics jump 21% in the US Generic tenofovir drugs have also seen a significant increase in sales.

 

Last year, the combined prescription value of tenofovir generics was KRW 20.7 billion, up 21% from KRW 17.1 billion in 2023.

 

In Korea, generic versions of tenofovir-based hepatitis B treatments have been launched in succession since 2018 for Viread and 2023 for Vemlidy.

 

In the case of tenofovir-based generics, the growth was somewhat slower, with the existing Viread generics generating KRW 15.9 billion in 2020, KRW 16.5 billion in 2021, KRW 17.7 billion in 2022, and KRW 17.1 billion in 2023.

 

However, the entry of Vemlidy generics has grown the market significantly to reach KRW 20.7 billion.

 

The prescription performance of existing Viread generics has mostly declined.

 

Chong Kun Dang’s Tenofobell fell from KRW 3.7 billion in 2023 to KRW 3.3 billion last year.

 

Dong-A ST’s Virreal fell from KRW 2.8 billion to KRW 2.6 billion.

 

On the other hand, Vemlidy generics saw a significant increase in prescriptions.

 

Samil Pharmaceutical's Vemlino generated only KRW 300 million in 2023 but increased eightfold to KRW 2.4 billion last year.

 

Sales of Dong-A ST’s Vemlia also surged from KRW 300 million to KRW 1.7 billion in one year.

 

Generic versions of another hepatitis B drug, Baraclude, generated KRW 33.6 billion last year.

 

The combined prescription value of Baraclude generics has been growing moderately since exceeding KRW 30 billion in 2020.

 

Among Baraclude generics, Dong-A ST’s Baracle was the highest prescribed at KRW 10.4 billion.

 

It was followed by Samil Pharmaceutical's Enped at KRW 3.8 billion, Daewoong Pharmaceutical's Baracross at KRW 3.4 billion, Bukwang Pham’s Bukwang Entecavir at KRW 3.2 billion, and Hanmi Pharmaceutical's Cavir at KRW 3 billion.