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- 2025-12-25 04:50:28
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- 1 in 3 don't know the right dose of antipyretic drugs
- by Apr 20, 2022 06:05am
- With COVID-19, 9 out of 10 consumers have purchased antipyretic drugs within the past six months, but one in three still does not know the appropriate dosage, indicating that appropriate medication guidance is needed. Johnson & Johnson Korea announced the results of a survey conducted on 1,000 consumers aged 20 to 49 in Korea on the 18th through Open Survey, a domestic research company. The survey was designed to find out whether consumers are aware of the right dosage and information, and what factors affect purchase frequency, purchase purpose, and purchase as the demand for home remedies, including antipyretic analgesics, increases due to COVID-19 home treatment. According to the survey results, 9 out of 10 consumers (90.5%) of consumers aged 20 to 49 had experience purchasing antipyretic drugs (including emergency medicines such as comprehensive cold medicines) within the past six months. More than half (57.6%) of them felt that the frequency of purchasing antipyretic painkillers increased this year when home treatment began in earnest. As for "Who is the most recently purchased antipyretic pain reliever (including OTC cold medicine) for?" more than half, 50.3%, said they purchased it for "the whole family." 31.7% of the respondents said they did not know the appropriate dosage of antipyretic analgesics they usually take. Young people tended not to purchase specific brands. Six out of 10 (61.9%) said they did not know whether the antipyretic drug brand they usually buy was an original or generic drug. In addition, 78.7% of the respondents said they considered the "effect" the most important thing when purchasing antipyretic drugs, followed by safety (49.2%), brand (33.5%), ease of purchase (20.7%), and price (16.5%). As a result of the survey on "What is the original drug antipyretic pain reliever you know", 89.8% chose "Tylenol". 58.6% of the respondents chose "intention" to buy original medicines for those who have purchased antipyretic drugs within the past six months. Among the reasons for thinking that way (multiple responses), "safety data accumulated as long as they were sold (72.7%)" and "confidence given by original" (70.4%) were the most common. In particular, 78.9% of them said that originality is more important when purchasing medicines than general foods. The intention to purchase the original medicine was especially evident from consumers aged 20 to 49 who said they had purchased antipyretic drugs. An official from Johnson & Johnson Korea said, "The antipyretic pain reliever such as comprehensive cold medicines, has become a must-have item in the home, with 90.5% of consumers aged 20 to 49 saying they have purchased within six months." He said, "It is encouraging that interest in proper dosage is increasing as the demand for antipyretic drugs increases, but one in three people still say they do not know the proper dosage, so we will continue to work hard to provide consumer information such as medication guidance." Source: Johnson & Johnson, Korea
- Company
- Hanmi leads the outpatient prescription market in Q1 2022
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Apr 19, 2022 05:53am
- Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s performance stood out in the outpatient prescription market with its solidified lead heralded by the introduction of its new combination drug. Daewon Pharmaceutical’s prescription volume has also soared vertically due to the boom in anti-inflammatory and cold medicines following a surge in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Other major pharmaceutical companies also showed an increase in sales performance due to an increase in demand for COVID-19 symptom relief medications According to the pharmaceutical research institution UBIST on the 18th, Hanmi took the sole lead among pharmaceutical companies in Korea and abroad in outpatient prescriptions with ₩194.3 billion in Q1 this year. This is an 11.8% growth from the ₩173.89 billion in Q1 last year, and a ₩45.5 billion difference from the runner-up Chong Kun Dang. Also, this is an ₩80 billion difference with the No.3 Daewoong Pharmaceutical. Hanmi Pharmaceutical took this lead in the prescription drug market using its new combination drug. Prescriptions of Hanmi’s combination drug for hyperlipidemia, Rosuzet, increased 13.1% from Q1 of the previous year to record ₩32.7 billion. Rosuzet is a combination of ezetimibe and rosuvastatin that was released at the end of 2015. Rosuzet has made rapid growth every year since recording ₩24.3 billion in sales in 2016. Rosuzet has recorded a ₩10 billion range of prescriptions for 10 consecutive months since June last year. Hanmi’s leading new combination drug, the Amosartan family, has also shown continued growth. Hanmi has been selling its amlopidine and losartan combination Amosartan as well as Amosartan Plus, Amosartan Q, and Amosartan XQ. Amosartan Plus is a combination of three drugs, amlodipine, losartan, and chlorthalidone. Amosartan Q is a combination of Amosartan and the hyperlipidemia treatment rosuvastatin. Amosartan XQ is a combination of Amosartan, rosuvastatin, and ezetimibe that was released last year. Prescription sales of Amosartan, Amosartan Plus, Amosartan Q, and Amosartan XQ have increased 5.8% from the previous year to record ₩31.9 billion. Prescription performance of Amosartan rose 2.4% from the previous year to ₩21 billion, and Amosartan Plus rose 3.8% to ₩7 billion. Amosartan Q, Amosartan XQ also recorded ₩2.8 billion and ₩1.1 billion each. Sales of the antiulcer drug Esomezol rose 12.0% to ₩13.5 billion in Q1 this year. Prescription of Hanmi’s drugs that were used to relieve COVID-19 symptoms such as Clari, Suspen 8 hours, and Maxibupen has also increased greatly. Chong Kun Dang has ranked No.2 with prescriptions of ₩148.8 billion in Q1. However, its gap with the No.1 in the ranks had widened with its performance reduced by 4.7%. Daewoong Pharmaceutical has ranked No.3 with prescriptions of ₩114.1 billion, which was a 6.5% increase from the previous year. Prescriptions at major pharmaceutical companies have generally increased from Q1 last year. 15 of the 20 top companies have shown growth in prescriptions compared to the same period last year. In particular, Daewon Pharmaceutical's growth stood out among the companies. Daewon Pharmaceutical's outpatient prescription sales in the first quarter amounted to ₩83.8 billion, up 25.5% from the previous year. It surpassed the ₩82.8 billion recorded in Q4 2019 for the first time in 9 quarters and made a new record. The increased demand for anti-inflammatory and cold drugs due to the recent surge in the number of confirmed COVID-19 patients has led to this upward trend in prescriptions for Daewon Pharmaceutical. The anti-inflammatory analgesic Pelubi’s sales grew 22.0% from the previous year to record ₩9.5 billion in Q1. This is the largest record made since its release in 2007. Daewon’s original new drug Pelubi is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesic used for osteoarthritis and back pain. The upsurge in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased the demand for anti-inflammatory analgesics, increasing prescriptions of Pelubi as well. Prescriptions of Daewon’s cold medicine Codaewon have also increased greatly. Prescriptions of Codaewon S in Q1 this year were ₩6.4 billion, a 253.6% increase from the ₩1.8 billion recorded last year. Codaewon Forte’s sales have also increased twofold from the ₩2.9 billion last year to ₩5.6 billion in Q1 this year. Codaewon S is used to improve signs and symptoms of acute bronchitis and Codaewon Forte is indicated for coughs and sputum. Celltrion Pharm, Daewoong Bio, Hutecs, Boryung, and United Pharma Korea’s prescriptions have increased by over 10% in Q1 compared to the same period of the previous year. The surge in demand for COVID-19 symptom relief drugs such as cold drugs and anti-inflammatory analgesics are analyzed to have led to the improvement in prescription performance. On the other hand, the prescription volume of Chong Kun Dang, Viatris, Dong-A ST, Jeil Pharm, and Il Dong Pharmaceutical had decreased from the previous year.
- Company
- The prolonged slump in IPO of pharmaceutical bio
- by Kim, Jin-Gu Apr 19, 2022 05:52am
- Amid the prolonged sluggish trend in the IPO market in the pharmaceutical bio industry, attention is being paid to whether newly challenged companies will be able to draw a turnaround. According to the pharmaceutical industry on the 19th, there are two pharmaceutical bio companies that have been listed in the second quarter of this year, Wonteg and RP BIO. On top of that, Immunemed, Lunit, and Shaperon have proposed listing on KOSDAQ within the first half of the year. However, they have not yet been approved for a preliminary screening of the listing. RP BIO passed a preliminary review for listing on KOSDAQ on the 14th. It has been about four months since it filed a preliminary review in December last year. RP BIO is a manufacturer of soft capsule-type medicines and health functional foods. Its sales and operating profit last year were 114.9 billion won and 5.8 billion won. The largest shareholder is Yoon Jae-hoon, the second son of honorary chairman Yoon Young-hwan, founder of Daewoong Pharmaceutical. Prior to this, On the 31st of last month, Wonteg received approval for a preliminary review. It submitted a securities report on the 1st of this month. Wonteg is pushing for listing on KOSDAQ through a merger and acquisition of SPAC. Wonteg is a company that manufactures and sells laser and ultrasound medical devices related to skin beauty. On the 25th, Wonteg is raising the mood by announcing IR events related to listing. The pharmaceutical bio industry is paying attention to whether the two companies will be successful in IPO. Given that the IPO of pharmaceutical bio companies failed to make a hit in the first quarter, attention is growing on whether it will continue its sluggish trend in the second quarter or succeed in reversing the atmosphere. Three pharmaceutical bio companies listed this year are said to have failed to make a hit. Ad Biotech, which was listed in January, and Noul, which was listed in March, were decided to have a lower public offering price than Hope Band. BiofDNC, which was listed in February, has remained lower than the public offering price until recently after its stock price plunged on the first day of listing. As the pharmaceutical bio IPO market shrinks, more and more companies are giving up listing in the middle. In March, Boronoi submitted a report to the Financial Supervisory Service to withdraw its listing. Boronoi even received approval for listing, but temporarily suspended its listing plan as it failed to predict demand. KMRI, Finemedix, and FutureMedicine also voluntarily withdrew at the preliminary screening stage for listing. In the first half of last year alone, eight companies were newly and previously listed through corporate disclosure. Starting with PBPharma, Prestige Biologics, NeoImuneTech, Biodyne, SK Bioscience, HPO, GeneSystem, and ADM Korea debuted. Most of them were successful in box office. SK Bioscience succeeded in publicizing 1.4918 trillion won when it was listed on the securities market in March last year. Institutional investment conducted prior to listing recorded a competition ratio of 1275.47 to 1. In the subscription for general investors, more than 63 trillion won of evidence was collected. The industry believes that the sluggish IPO market has been affected by a combination of rising U.S. interest rates, the sluggish domestic stock market atmosphere due to the Ukrainian war, and weak investor sentiment in the bio industry. Another reason is that there are no large pharmaceutical bio companies that are about to be listed. This is in contrast to the consecutive listing of large pharmaceutical bio companies such as SK Biopharm two years ago and SD BioSensor, Inc·HK inno.N last year.
- Company
- Pharmaceutical industry starts face-to-face marketing
- by Kim, Jin-Gu Apr 18, 2022 05:58am
- As the government decided to completely lift social distancing measures from today (18th), the pharmaceutical bio industry is also actively planning offline marketing events. As large-scale offline events have been virtually impossible for nearly two years, marketers are raising expectations for changes caused by the move. ◆ Abolish social distancing in 2 years On the 15th, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum announced that social distancing will be lifted from the 18th through a meeting of the COVID-19 Central Countermeasure Headquarters held at the Seoul Government Complex. After today, the limit on the number of private gatherings and restaurant business hours will be removed. It is the first time in two years and one month that the social distancing guidelines are completely lifted. The pharmaceutical bio industry welcomes this measure. This is because offline marketing events have been virtually impossible due to restrictions on the number of private gatherings. There are also notable places that are preparing for a large-scale event next month. Boryung is planning a symposium on the launch of 'Dukarb Plus' next month. Dukarb Plus is the seventh product of Boryung's Canarb Family. An official from Boryung said, "We are preparing for a launching symposium at a hotel in Seoul next month," adding, " we are planning various offline symposiums and seminars for each business headquarters." The offline Dukarb Plus launch symposium contrasts with the online launch symposium when Dukaro and Akarb were released two years ago. Boryung held the Dukarb launch symposium online for the first time in the industry in March 2020. This web symposium was a great success with 2,500 medical staff accessing at the same time. In September, Akarb was released and similarly opened a web symposium. ◆ Pharmaceutical industry is planning to hold offline events in earnest in the second half of the year Other companies have similar situations. Although the timing of the resumption of offline symposiums, seminars, and product briefings are different, expectations are high that more active offline events will be possible by lifting social distancing measures. A marketing manager at a large pharmaceutical company said, "Since the beginning of this year, social distancing measures have been loosened little by little, and small product briefings have been sporadic," adding, "If the distance disappears, offline events will be more active." Another official from a large pharmaceutical company said, "We have focused on online marketing so far," and predicted, "Marketing activities such as symposiums, seminars, and product presentations will be carried out in a way that combines online and offline." Small and medium-sized pharmaceutical companies are even more pleased with the move. A marketing manager at a small and medium-sized pharmaceutical company said, "In the case of large pharmaceutical companies, they created their own online platform and carried out marketing activities, but small and medium-sized pharmaceutical companies failed to do so," adding, "We plan to actively carry out offline marketing events from the end of this month." ◆The workshop that has been postponed for two years is also moving to resume, "following the company's guidelines Internal events such as workshops and company dinners are also being resumed. However, it is confirmed that it is approaching somewhat more carefully than offline marketing events. An official from the pharmaceutical industry said, "Most of the workshops over the past two years have been replaced online or canceled altogether." Although no official company-level guidelines have been issued yet, offline workshops and dinners are expected to resume soon, he explained. An official from a multinational pharmaceutical company said, "It was like that before, but we will carry out offline activities according to the company's guidelines," adding, "Until now, offline events, whether internal or external events, have been completely banned. In the future, it is expected that it will be changed in a way that combines online and offline." Another multinational pharmaceutical company official said, "There is no immediate change," and predicted, "However, as distancing has been lifted from the second half, restrictions are expected to disappear in the stage of preliminary review or preparation."
- Company
- DHP Korea faces reimb. reevaluations for its HA eye drops
- by Nho, Byung Chul Apr 18, 2022 05:58am
- How DHP Korea, a company specializing in eye drops, will be establishing a strategy to defend its sales ahead of the upcoming reimbursement reevaluations for its HA (hyaluronic acid) products next year is drawing attention. In particular, this upcoming risk is highly likely to serve as a testbed to verify the company’s newly appointed CEO Eunyoung Park’s ability in crisis management and the creation of new growth engines. Eunyoung Park, who was formerly the SSK business unit head of Zuellig Pharma, was appointed head of DHP Korea last month. One key point of concern is whether the Health Insurance Reimbursement and Assessment Service’s reimbursement reevaluations would result in partial reimbursement cuts or large-scale reimbursement deletions, depending on which the company’s loss in sales would vary significantly. DHP Korea made sales of ₩57.3 billion in 2021, among which ₩34.1 billion was from reimbursed eye drop products. The other ₩23.1 billion was from CMOs and other deals. The external growth of HA eye drops accounted for ₩25.1 billion, 43% of the company’s total sales and 73% of the company’s sales from eye drops. This concentration on HA eye drops is why the reimbursement reevaluation of sodium hyaluronate eye drops by HIRA that is scheduled next year is foreshadowing a huge blow to DHP Korea's performance, regardless of whether it results in reimbursement cuts or deletions. DHP Korea’s key product, HA eye drops, had recorded its peak sales in 2020 at ₩30.4 billion, then fell to ₩5 billion last year. Other than Tearin F (₩1.2 billion→₩2.4 billion), Tearin S (₩2.8 billion→₩2.2billion), Tearin Free (₩14.3 billion→₩8.8 billion), and Tearin P (₩11.9 billion→₩11.5 billion) all showed negative growth. DHP Korea said, “Nothing has been determined yet on whether the reimbursement evaluations on sodium hyaluronate eye drops will be deleted or reduced. We will seek a strategic breakthrough after examining how it goes."
- Company
- Dividend payout for Pfizer is 12.48 million won
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Apr 15, 2022 06:03am
- Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea performed better last year with sales of the COVID-19 vaccine, but its dividend was only 12.48 million won. Regardless of the sharp rise in performance, the dividend payout ratio was only 0.01%, allocating 20% of the capital of preferred stocks. It has adhered to a unique dividend policy that distributes 12.48 million won in total except for twice in the past 20 years. According to the Financial Supervisory Service on the 14th, Pfizer Korea decided to pay 12.48 million won in dividends last year. Dividends have been set at 12.48 million won for the fourth consecutive year since 2018. Although its performance improved significantly with the COVID-19 vaccine last year, dividends were calculated on the same scale as before. Pfizer Korea's sales soared more than four times from 391.9 billion won in 2020 to 1.694 trillion won last year. The amount is more than twice as much as 751.6 billion won recorded in 2017 before Pfizer Korea spun off with Viatris. Pfizer's performance soared as it supplied the COVID-19 vaccine developed with Germany's BioNTech. Pfizer Korea recorded an operating loss of 7.2 billion won in 2020, with its operating profit rising to 59.2 billion won last year. Net profit reached 95.9 billion won last year. The sale of land and buildings at its headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, generated 44.4 billion won in profits from disposal of tangible assets, further expanding its net profit. Dividends paid to shareholders are proportional if a company's net profit surges, but it is interesting that last year's dividend of Pfizer Korea was set at 12.48 million won, the same as the previous year. The dividend payout ratio stood at only 0.01 %. Pfizer Korea calculated dividends by applying a dividend rate of 20% to preferred stock capital. Pfizer Korea has a total capital of 922.92 million won. Among them, common stock capital is 860.52 million won and preferred stock capital is 62.4 million won. Dividends of 12.48 million won were set at 20% of 62.4 million won in preferred stock capital. The largest shareholder of Pfizer Korea is Pfizer's Dutch subsidiary 'PFG South Korea 1 B.V.' with a 97.15% stake. Pfizer Korea issued a total of 12.8 million preferred shares. Among them, PFOFG South Korea 1 B.V. holds 7,280 shares, while domestic shareholders hold the remaining 5,200 shares. PFOFG South Korea 1 B.V. and domestic shareholders receive 7.28 million won and 5 million won in dividends from Pfizer, respectively. As of the end of November 2020, the capital of Pfizer Korea was 12.08 billion won. However, the capital was reduced to 922.92 million won as the extraordinary shareholders' meeting at the end of 2020 decided to incinerate 2,233,416 shares for a fee of 61,000 won per share owned by ordinary shareholders. Preferred stocks did not change, so the same dividend as the previous year was set according to the dividend calculation standard of "20% preferred stocks." For 20 years since 2002, Korea Pfizer has been paid 12.48 million won in dividends on the same basis of 20% of preferred stocks except for No. 2. In 2017, dividends were set at 79.794 billion won, more than net profit. At that time, both common stocks (2,455,520 shares) and preferred stocks (12,480 shares) decided to pay 660% of the par value of 5,000 won as a dividend rate, expanding the amount of dividends. In 2008, a dividend of 190 billion won was set. Even though it recorded a deficit of 600 million won at the time, high dividends were confirmed as it decided a dividend rate of 3045% compared to its face value. In the past 20 years, only two high dividends have been set, and the rest have continued to have a small dividend policy of 12.48 million won. In other words, the headquarters made profits by making high dividends once a decade on average. An official from Pfizer Korea said, "We cannot disclose the background of the dividend decision." Pfizer
- Company
- Acromegaly drug ‘Somavert’ lands in ‘Big 5’ hospitals
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Apr 15, 2022 06:03am
- The new acromegaly drug ‘Somavert’ may now be prescribed at general hospitals in Korea. According to industry sources, Pfizer Korea’s Somavert (pegvisomant) has passed the review of Drug Committees at the ‘Big 5’ tertiary hospitals in Korea including the Samsung Medical Center, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul St.Mary’s Hospital, Asan Medical Center and Shinchon Severance Hospital. The drug can now be prescribed at most major hospitals in Korea. As Somavert has been listed for insurance benefit in September last year, no barriers remain in patients' access to the drug. Acromegaly, which is also known as giantism, is a rare condition characterized by the excessive secretion of growth hormones that causes abnormal, excessive secretion of IGF-I, and is most often caused by a benign tumor of the pituitary gland. Acromegaly is associated with clinical changes including reduced life expectancy, cardiovascular issues, enlargement of hands, feet, and other organs, facial deformity, fatigue, joint pain, metabolic disorder, etc. In such cases, the mortality rate is twice or even three times higher than normal people. Also, as the physical deformities do not return to normal, early diagnosis and treatment are very important. Somavert’s efficacy was demonstrated in the randomized, double-blind, pivotal SEN-3614 study that was conducted on 112 patients with acromegaly for 12 weeks. The 112 patients were randomly assigned to receive 10mg, 15mg, and 20mg of pegvisomant or placebo every day, and its primary efficacy endpoint was the percent change in serum IGF-I concentration from baseline to Week 12. Study results showed that in Week 12, the median serum IGF-I concentration reduction level was 16.8%, 26.7±27.9%, 50.1±26.7%, 62.5±21.3% for the placebo arm, and 10mg, 15mg, 20mg pegvisomant arm, respectively. In other words, Pegvisomant significantly reduced serum IGF-I concentrations in all three doses compared to placebo. The rate of patients whose serum IGF-I concentrations normalized compared to baseline were 10%, 54%, 81%, and 89% for the placebo arm and 10mg, 15mg, and 20mg pegvisomant arm, respectively. Pegvisomant showed a significantly higher rate in all three doses compared to placebo. Meanwhile, Somavert was approved for the treatment of adult patients with acromegaly who have had an inadequate response to surgery and/or radiation therapy and in whom an appropriate medical treatment with somatostatin analogues did not normalize IGF-I concentrations or was not tolerated in September last year and designated an orphan drug in 2018.
- Company
- Artiva expands contract to develop dell therapy with MSD
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Apr 15, 2022 06:03am
- GC Pharma affiliate Artiva Biotheraputics announced on the 12th that it has signed a contract with MSD to expand the development of natural killing (NK) cell therapy. Artiva was established in 2019 by GC CELL and GC LABTECH in San Diego, USA. Under the contract, the two companies will promote joint research on anticancer drugs that combine NK cell therapy AB-101 under development with Tri-Specific NK-Cell Engagers owned by MSD. In particular, this contract was signed by Artiva in January last year after exporting platform technology worth KRW 2 trillion to MSD with GCELL. Artiva is already jointly developing three "CAR-NK cell treatments" for MSD and solid cancer treatment. The triple-specific NK cell-binding antibody of MSD used in this combination therapy is combined with cancer cells and specific antigens expressed in NK cells, and then activates NK cells to directly kill cancer cells, as well as activates other immune cells around cancer cells to remove cancer. Artiva's AB-101 is one of the NK cell pipelines derived from homeostatic cord blood based on GC cell technology. Artiva was approved by the FDA in December 2020 and is conducting phase 1 and 2 clinical trials for patients with recurrent and intractable B-cell lymphoma in the United States. Peter Flynn, Artiva co-founder said, "We have built a fantastic partnership with MSD over the past year. We are pleased to extend our partnership to include the development of our homologous NK cell therapy-based triple antibody candidate material."
- Company
- Somavert for terminal hypertrophy can be prescribed at Big 5
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Apr 14, 2022 05:56am
- Somavert, a new drug for terminal hypertrophy, can be prescribed at a general hospital. According to related industries, Pfizer Korea's Somavert has currently passed DC of the Big 5 higher-level medical institutions such as Samsung Medical Center, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, AMC, and Sinchon Severance Hospital. Currently, it can be prescribed in most major hospitals nationwide. Somavert has been listed on the insurance benefit list since September last year, making it easy to access patients. Somavert demonstrated its validity through a SEN-3614 study, a 12-week randomized, double-blind core study in 12 patients with terminal hypertrophy. 112 patients were randomly assigned to the Pegvisomant daily administration group of 10 mg, 15 mg, and 20 mg and placebo administration group, respectively, and the primary validity evaluation variable in the study was a change in serum IGF-I concentration at 12 weeks compared to the baseline. As a result of the study, the median serum IGF-I concentration at 12 weeks compared to the baseline was 4.0±16.8%, 26.7±27.9%, 50.1±26.7%, and 62.5±21.3%, respectively, in the placebo, 10 mg daily, 15 mg, and 20 mg administration groups. The proportion of patients whose serum IFG-I concentration returned to normal to baseline in the placebo-administered group, the Pegvisomant daily 10 mg-administered group, the 15 mg-administered group, and the 20 mg-administered group were 10%, 54%, 81%, and 89%, respectively, indicating that Pegvisomant was significantly higher in all three doses compared to the placebo Somavert did not respond appropriately to surgery and radiation therapy, and was approved in Korea in September last year for the treatment of adult terminal hypertrophy patients with insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) concentration or intolerance due to Somatostatin mitosis treatment.
- Company
- “NOAC Eliquis is safe for use in high-risk groups”
- by Apr 13, 2022 06:02am
- The bleeding safety of the novel oral anticoagulant (NOAC) ‘Eliquis (apixaban)’ was reaffirmed through clinical practice guidelines of major academic societies. On the 12th, BMS Korea and Pfizer Korea announced that they have hosted a ‘VMC Master of Masters Webinar’ on the 11th to share the latest advances in preventive therapies for atrial fibrillation and Eliquis’ effect and safety with healthcare professionals in Korea. The webinar was prepared to share the latest advances in stroke prevention for atrial fibrillation patients by sharing the revised clinical practice guidelines from major international societies, and highlighted the stroke prevention effect and bleeding safety of Eliquis. Professor Gregory YH Lip at the University of Liverpool, Professor Jan Steffel at the University of Zurich, and Professor Eue-Keun Choi of the Cardiology Department at Seoul National University Hospital participated as lecturers to introduce the updated guidelines of the ▲European Society of Cardiology (ESC), ▲European Health Rhythm Association (EHRA), and ▲Asia-Pacific Heart Rhythm Society (APHRS). According to Professor Steffel, the EHRA revised its guidelines last year to mention apixaban as one of the preferred NOACs in patients weighing less than 60kg, as it has shown consistent effect and safety compared to VKA in low-weight patients. Apixaban was also mentioned as a NOAC that reduced the risk of major bleeding in high-risk patients such as the elderly and patients with renal impairment. Professor Steffel added, "Special attention is required during anticoagulation therapy, especially in underweight patients, as such treatments are frequently accompanied by conditions that can increase the risk of stroke and bleeding, such as advanced age, cancer, and decreased renal function." Professor Lip introduced an integrated atrial fibrillation management strategy based on ESC guidelines. The integrated management of atrial fibrillation in the ‘Atrial fibrillation Better Care (ABC)’ pathway defines the use of anticoagulant therapy to prevent strokes as the first treatment step. Professor Lip said, “ESC is recommended over non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants or VTKs in patients with atrial fibrillation that can be administered oral anticoagulants.” Professor Choi highlighted stroke prevention therapy in Asian patients with atrial fibrillation and the use of NOACs in specific patient groups. Professor Choi said, “Patients after atrial fibrillation diagnosis grow older and develop comorbidities such as heart failure, high blood pressure, and diabetes, which continuously increases the risk of strokes. This is why the APRHS guidelines recommend patients to reevaluate their risk of strokes every 4 months.” In particular, Professor Choi focused on the stroke prevention therapies that were newly added for specific patient groups such as those with old age, underweight, liver failure, etc in the updated guidelines. Analysis of major clinical data on 4 types of NOAC (apixaban, dabigatran rivaroxaban, edoxaban) by age showed that apixaban was the only drug to show a reduction in risk of stroke, major bleeding, and intracranial hemorrhages in those between 65 to 74 and over 75 years of age compared to warfarin. On this, Choi said, “The company has steadily accumulated clinical data on various patient groups for Eliquis. The clinical practice guidelines on atrial fibrillation were updated based on real-world data on Eliquis that shows that the drug has consistent effect and safety profile even in specific patients groups, including high-risk group and Asians.”
