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- 2025-12-27 08:44:35
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- Obesity market surpassed ￦100 billion in 10 years
- by An, Kyung-Jin Feb 27, 2020 06:33am
- SaxendaLast year, 'Saxenda', which had gained popularity through going viral with 'Gangnam injection' and 'antiobestic injection', evaluated the domestic obesity treatment market. After 3rd quarterly sales, it gained the top spot, and its market share soared to almost one-third of the entire market. In the wake of the Saxenda, the total market size also recovered to ￦100 billion in 10 years after the withdrawal of Sibutramine. According to the drug research agency IQVIA on the 25th, the market size for obesity drugs last year reached ￦13.4 billion, up 38.6% year-on-year. The appetite suppressant drug, Sibutramine, has exceeded its annual sales of ￦100 billion in 10 years since 2009, immediately before it is evicted due to cardiovascular safety. Saxenda, released in March 2018, stabilized the market, acting as a catalyst for the growth of the domestic obesity treatment market. Saxenda's sales last year rose 465.9% to ￦42.6 billion. The company recorded sales five times higher than the second-largest Dietamin. Yearly market for obesity treatments (Unit: ￦100 million, Source: IQVIA) Saxenda (Liraglutide 3.0mg) is the world's first anti-obesity drug licensed as a GLP-1 (Glucagon-Like Peptide 1) analog. GLP-1 hormone secreted by the body as a food intake is delivered to the hypothalamus of the brain to reduce hunger and increase satiety to regulate appetite. Saxenda acts the same mechanism as GLP-1 in the body, suppressing appetite and weight loss. It is the same ingredient as 'Victoza' (Liraglutide 1.8mg) prescribed for type II diabetics, but its usage and dosage are different. Saxenda announced its presence with sales of ￦1.7 billion in the third quarter of 2018, and topped the list with sales of ￦5.6 billion in the fourth quarter. At the time, the domestic obesity drug market share exceeded 20% Saxenda has maintained sales of around ￦10 billion every quarter since its quarterly sales exceeded ￦10 billion in the first quarter of 2019. In the third quarter of last year, the market share soared to 33.7%. Saxenda's share in the fourth quarter of last year was 32.7%, down slightly from the previous quarter, but it was still overwhelming. Except for Saxenda, there are no anti-obesity drugs with annual sales of over ￦10 billion. Daewoong Pharm's 'Dietamin', which was second in sales after Saxenda, posted sales of ￦9.5 billion, up 6.2% from last year. Ildong Pharmaceutical's 'Belviq' sales, which had recently been forced to exit the market due to increased cancer risk, fell 13.8% from the previous year to ￦8.5 billion. Huon's Hutermin(￦6.2 billion) and Albogen Korea's Furing (￦5.3 billion) ranked among the top five in the domestic sales of obesity drugs, but their market share was less than 5%. Last year, Guangdong Pharmaceutical 'Contrave', which once attracted interest in the anti-obesity market, sold only ￦3.7 billion. It decreased 11.9% year-on-year. Annual sales and rate of increase and decrease of major domestic obesity drugs (Unit: ￦100 million,%, Source: IQVIA) In the industry, despite the handicap of Saxenda injections, Victoza, an anti-diabetic drug with the same ingredient, has shown long-term safety early in the market. Victoza demonstrated a 13% lower risk of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction and stroke in a LEADER study involving more than 9,000 people with type II diabetes. This is reflected in the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Drug Administration (EMA) product labels. With the exit of Belviq, it is expected that the power of Saxenda will be further enhanced. However, some people are concerned about the Saxenda’s craze. Drugs that should be administered to obese patients can be injected into young women in their 20s and 30s who want to become thinner, or they can be misused as they are traded on social media services (SNS) without knowing the mechanism, exact dose, and side effects. Quarterly sales trend of major domestic obesity treatments (Unit: ￦100 million, Source: IQVIA) Prof. Sung Rae Kim (College of Endocrinology, Bucheon St. Mary's Hospital) expressed concern about the Saxenda’s craze in an editorial published in the Korean Journal of Diabetes (J Korean Diabetes 2019; 20: 63-66). Professor Kim said, "In our country, the treatment of obesity is too much for cosmetic purposes regardless of obesity. Some behaviors that require prescription or illegal advertisements without any confirmation or explanation are very worrying, and Saxenda, a GLP-1 derivative, is an injection that has proven long-term efficacy and safety in the treatment of obesity, but it must be administered with the proper diet, exercise and behavioral therapy in the right treatment".
- Company
- COVID-19 closes LS Tower, GSK-Janssen to work from home
- by Jung, Hye-Jin Feb 27, 2020 06:33am
- As an office worker working at LS Yongsan Tower, located in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, was confirmed have been infected with COVID-19, pharmaceutical company offices housed at the tower told their employees to work from home. The authorities of Yongsan-gu announced on Feb. 25 the LS Yongsan Tower would be closed as an office worker working on the 16th floor of the building has been tested positive for COVID-19 infection on Feb. 24. Accordingly, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Korea, Johnson and Johnson (J&J) Korea, and Janssen Korea, with their offices located in the LS tower, have ordered all employees to work from home as of Feb. 25. Employees of the pharmaceutical companies have received an emergency text in the evening of Feb. 24 informing the confirmed case at LS Tower and urgent closure of the building from Feb. 25. Particularly, Janssen Korea operated Crisis Management Team (CMT) to respond to COVID-19 and announced the details to all employees of Janssen Korea and J&J Korea. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, multinational pharmaceutical companies have been highly recommending employees to work from home. As majority of GSK and J&J employees have been working from home already, the building closure would not critically affect the businesses. A GSK insider commented, “Because the company has recommended option of working from home and flexible working since the COVID-19 outbreak, many of the employees have been working from home for a while now. So, majority of them received the news of the building’s confirmed case and the closure via the text message.” But regardless of the companies’ flexible working scene, desk employees or divisions working around the office would inevitably miss work due to the closure. A location, where an infected individual has stayed, has to be closed down immediately and disinfected for a couple of days to a couple of weeks at most. Janssen Korea official said, “Other than all employees working from home, no other decision has been made. We have been informed of building closure on Feb. 25 only, so we are internally discussing about further responsive instruction.”
- Company
- Next gen Keytruda and Tagrisso skyrocket up the market rank
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Feb 27, 2020 06:32am
- A next generation anticancer therapy developed by a multinational pharmaceutical company has shuffled through the best-selling pharmaceuticals rank in Korea. Four years since the launch, Keytruda has generated over 100 billion won a year. Tagrisso and Opdivo also showed a steep surge in growth. Pharmaceutical market research firm IQVIA on Feb. 24 said Pfizer’s dyslipidemia treatment Lipitor has topped the Korean pharmaceutical market and made total of 148.9 trillion last year. According to IQVIA data, last year’s sales volume of the medication was increased by 8.5 percent than the previous year, letting Lipitor defend its top ranking for the fourth straight years. Launched 21 years ago in Korea, Lipitor reaffirmed its market leadership regardless of over 100 generics in the same market. 10 best-selling pharmaceuticals in 2019 (unit: KRW 100 million) Source: IQVIA In 2019, next generation anticancer therapies have consolidated their market position. MSD’s Keytruda placed itself on the second place in the market last year with 124.8 billion won, soaring 77.5 percent from the year before. Keytruda is a type of immune checkpoint inhibitor that boosts activity of immune cells by blocking the binding of PD-1 receptor on T-cell. Released in 2015, Keytruda has made over 10 billion won in 2016 and 2017. From August 2017, Keytruda received reimbursement on an indication to treat patients with non small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as a second-line treatment, which pushed its sales up to 70.3 billion won in 2018 and surpassed the 100 billion won-line in just four years. In last quarter, Keytruda generated 34.6 billion won and narrowed the gap with Lipitor by 5.1 billion won. Keytruda sales trend by quarter (Unit: KRW 100 million) Source: IQVIA AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso also showed a steep climb in growth. Making 79.2 billion won last year, Tagrisso’s volume grew by 33.2 percent from 2018 with 59.4 billion won. Every year its volume skyrocketed, reaching 2.3 billion won and 10.3 billion won in 2016 and 2017, respectively Tagrisso is a second-line treatment for patients with NSCLC, who have developed tolerance after being treated with existing epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), such as Iressa, Tarceva, and Giotrif. Tagrisso is also labeled as a third generation EGFR TKI as it overcame the tolerance issue. Winning the National Health Insurance reimbursement in December 2017, the medication’s sales volume grew by sevenfold within two years since the listing. The last quarter’s sales volume reached 19.9 billion won. Tagrisso sales trend by quarter (Unit: KRW 100 million) Source: IQVIA Ono Pharmaceutical and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo generated 67.0 billion won last year. Hiking up the volume by 16.5 percent, the medication emerged as a dark horse in the anticancer therapy market. Within the general top selling rank, biopharmaceuticals have performed significantly well last year. Roche’s anticancer therapy Avastin leapt 14.1 percent from the previous year and made 119.3 billion won, ranking itself on the third place. Approved by Korean health authority in 2007, Avastin is a targeted therapy that blocks growth and metastasis of tumor by inhibiting angiogenesis of cancer cell, carrying oxygen and nutrition. The treatment is used for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, metastatic breast cancer and NSCLC. After breaking through the 100 billion won-line for the first time in 2018, its sales have been over 100 billion won for two consecutive years. AbbVie’s autoimmune disease treatment Humira has made 96.2 billion won last year, 12.6 percent more than the previous year. Humira is a tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) inhibitor preventing expression of TNF alpha. Among all available TNF alpha inhibitors, Humira has the most number of indications of 14, which constantly attracts new users. Gilead’s hepatitis B treatment Viread’s sales volume took a 28.8-percent fall from 116.7 billion won in 2018 to 83.1 billion won last year. The fierce post-off-patent competition with generic seems to have pushed the treatment down the rank.
- Company
- GSK-Pfizer JV launch in Korea put off indefinitely
- by An, Kyung-Jin Feb 26, 2020 06:18pm
- Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea and GlaxoSmithKline Korea’s (GSK Korea) Consumer Healthcare Joint Venture launch schedule in Korea took a sharp turn unexpectedly. .Pharmaceutical industry source reported Korean offices of Pfizer and GSK have announced indefinite postponement of launching the consumer healthcare division joint venture .As the opening of the joint venture itself was deferred without a word, the Pfizer employees, who have requested to be transferred to GSK are now at a complete loss .Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea’s labor union insider said, “In the afternoon of Feb .21, the Human Resources team at GSK convened a town hall meeting via video conference call for the Consumer Healthcare Division employees and informed the kick-off date has been pushed .The meeting was finished in three minutes as they explained the reason or the next schedule cannot be disclosed.” The launching of Consumer Healthcare joint venture between Pfizer and GSK Korean offshoots has been in process from 2018, when the two headquarters have signed the merger deal .As GSK owns 68 percent and Pfizer owns the rest of 32 percent share of the joint venture, GSK was supposed to buyout the entire Pfizer’s Consumer Healthcare Division employees .The headquarters’ joint venture has been established since last August and all the employees have been transferred .The Korean offices have been preparing for the same procedure of transferring business, aiming to complete by Feb .24 .As the Working Condition Agreement has been passed on Feb .20 by the employees’ vote, the transferring employees just had to submit the signed agreement .But four days before the launch, the schedule was cleared without a warning .Apparently, 90 percent of the Consumer Healthcare Division employees of Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea have already requested either to stay at Pfizer, or to get transferred to GSK before the town hall meeting convened on Feb .21 .Regarding the issue, Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea official commented, “It is true we could not meet the targeted schedule, but we are not at point in time to disclose details of the reason.” GSK Korea has not issued any official statement of the matter .The labor union officials say they are on to find out the reason behind GSK’s change in decision, and they plan to keep a close eye on further progress .Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea labor union insider commented, “Employees, who have already handed in the transfer request, are now anxiously and blindly waiting for the postponed launch of the joint venture .The labor union also plans to convene a meeting with the headquarters to ask questions about the launch, and to promptly come up with a next step.”
- Company
- Sales activities messed up by COVID-19 crisis
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Feb 26, 2020 06:29am
- Pharmaceutical companies have already been struggling with earnings this year. Concerned about COVID-19 infection, people are reluctant to visit medical institutions, and their business activities for medical staff are virtually suspended. According to UBIST on the 25th, the total outpatient prescription amount last month was ￦1.25 trillion, down 4.4% from the same period last year. It was 4.6% lower than last month. The January prescription amount is unusual compared to the annual increase of more than 5%. Last year's prescriptions increased 8.5% compared to January 2018. In January 2018, prescriptions were up 18.2% year-on-year. In 2016 and January 2017, prescription amounts increased 5.4% and 7.6%, respectively. Monthly outpatient prescription amount (Unit: ￦100 million, Source: UBIST) Decrease in prescriptions in this January, the decrease in the number of business days due to the Lunar New Year holiday, which came earlier than usual, may have had some effect. However, the analysis predominates that COVID-19 may have been the biggest factor in reducing prescriptions. After the first COVID-19 confirmed in Korea last 20th, the alert for new infectious diseases has increased in earnest. Since then, patients have been reluctant to visit medical institutions. Indeed, prescriptions amount for major drugs sold heavily through outpatient prescriptions declined. Pfizer's Lipitor, ranked No.1 in prescriptions, fell 10.6% YoY to ￦15.5 billion. Daewoong Bio's brain function improver 'Gliatami' decreased 6.1%. Over the past month, prescriptions for large-sized medicines, such as Twynsta, Plavix, Crestor, Viread, Exforge and Amosartan showed a steady decline compared to the previous year. The outpatient prescription amount of AstraZeneca's anti-cancer drug Tagriso increased by 45.7% over the past month. Presumably, this is because the proportion of patients who were taken at home while avoiding hospitalization increased. Pharmaceutical companies are worried that earnings will be sluggish this month. The situation has worsened since the sudden increase in COVID-19 confirmers since the 19th. COVID-19 spread rapidly in Daegu, Gyeongbuk, and more than 900 confirmed as of 25th. On the 23rd, the government upgraded the COVID-19 crisis alert to the highest level of 'serious'. The government issued a serious step only 11 years after the swine flu crisis in 2009. Patients with mild illnesses, except those with severe or chronic illnesses, are reluctant to visit medical institutions because they are concerned about infection with COVID-19. The drop in the number of patients leads to a decline in drug sales. Pharmaceutical companies' sales activities are actually “open without any business”. At the end of last month, telecommuting of sales staff, which was adopted by multinational pharmaceutical companies, is spreading. Hanmi Pharm, LG Chem, GC Pharma, CJ Healthcare, Dong-A ST, and Dong-wha Pharm have banned sales people from visiting medical institutions. One medical institution restricted access to pharmaceutical salespersons. This is because sales people may be exposed to the risk of infection with COVID-19 due to frequent visits to medical institutions. There are also concerns that salespeople can be a powerful carrier if they are infected with COVID-19. If there are confirmed patients among pharmaceutical salespeople, the company can not avoid blaming for spreading COVID-19. While allowing salespersons to visit medical institutions, criticism may have been made that they exposed the risk of infection to COVID-19 and caused damage to medical institutions. The Korean Medical Practitioners Association also sent an official letter to the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association on the 20th requesting that sales representatives refrain from visiting. Promotional events such as product briefings are also being canceled. An official of a pharmaceutical company said, “We are forced to cancel a pre-scheduled meeting or briefing session for physicians and pharmacists because of concerns about the infection of COVID-19”. In fact, face-to-face sales activities have ceased. Some pharmaceutical companies expect to benefit from masks and some over-the-counter drugs with COVID-19, but most of them are concerned about sales impact because their major businesses are Prescription drugs. Disruption of business activities is inevitable for domestic pharmaceutical companies that are highly dependent on generics. Sales of generic drugs with the same product power depend on their sales force. Innovative new drugs with no alternative drugs or new drugs without generics are unlikely to hurt sales. For pharmaceutical companies, they suffered from poor performance in the fourth quarter of last year due to an impurity issue. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety banned the sale of all anti-ulcer drug Ranitidine at the end of last September. The market exit was virtually determined for the detection of carcinogen N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) excess. Pharmaceutical companies with ranitidine-based products suffered significant losses from sales bans, recalls, and disposals. GC Pharm, Jeil Pharm, JW Pharma, and Ildong Pharmaceutical recorded losses in the fourth quarter of last year. An official of a pharmaceutical company said, “The spread of COVID-19 has effectively stopped sales activities, and it is inevitable that there will be a considerable impact on performance, and in order to minimize prescription drug sales gap, there is a lot of concern in preparing effective marketing strategies in addition to traditional sales activities”.
- Company
- Cenobamate, received the grand prize for KNDA
- by Lee, Seok-Jun Feb 26, 2020 06:29am
- SK Biopharmaceuticals announced on the 24th that a new epilepsy drug, Cenobamate (USA Product Name: Xcopri), was selected as the grand prize for Korea New Drug Award (KNDA). This year's 21st KNDA is the only award in the domestic and international pharmaceutical biohealth industry new drug development sector, sponsored by the private sector and supported by the government (the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy ). The Korea Drug Research Association was established in 1999. According to SK Biopharmaceuticals, Cenobamate is the First-in-class drug approved by the US FDA for the treatment of partial seizures in adults. FDA approval was based on two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials and large-scale, multi-center open-label safety trials in patients who were taking 1~3 epilepsy medications and did not stop partial seizures. Cenobamate recorded statistically significant 'seizure reduction rate' and 'complete seizure loss rate'. Complete seizure loss means that the seizure does not occur during the medication period and the patient's routine returns to normal. SK Biopharm independently conducted the entire process from the discovery of pipeline drugs to clinical development, application for marketing authorization (NDA). Cenobamate is the first domestic drug that has been developed independently without technology exports and has been approved for marketing by the US FDA. US sales are expected in the second quarter. SK Life Sciences, a US subsidiary of SK Biopharm, will directly launch the marketing and sales of Xcopri.
- Company
- COVID-19 delays Cancer Deliberation Committee review
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Feb 25, 2020 06:12am
- The 2019 novel coronavirus, COVID-19, is even affecting pharmaceutical reimbursement listing procedure. According to pharmaceutical industry source, the Korean health authority has canceled the Cancer Treatment Deliberation Committee’s meeting initially scheduled on Feb. 26. Pharmaceutical companies that have been waiting for the deliberation outcome are at a loss. The February’s review agenda had star anticancer treatments like AstraZeneca’s targeted therapy Tagrisso (osimertinib) and Ono Pharmaceutical and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo (nivolumab). Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) Tagrisso has an ongoing deliberation over expanding its reimbursed indication to cover a first-line treatment for EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PD-1 inhibitor Opdivo has a number of indications seeking for reimbursement, such as renal cell carcinoma-treating first-line combination therapy with Yervoy, second-line treatment for renal cell carcinoma, second-line treatment for relapsed or metastatic head neck squamous cell carcinoma, and second-line treatment for classical Hodgkin’s disease. But, the controversial indication of second-line treatment for NSCLC regardless of expression of PD-L1 was omitted from the application. Due to the canceled meeting, the listing procedure would get delayed as well. The government means to decide whether to reschedule it in March or to review the agenda in the next regular meeting in six weeks, depending on the COVID-19 outbreak status. A global pharmaceutical company insider commented, “We think it was an inevitalbe call made due to the state of emergency. However, it is regrettable that patients in need for the treatment would have to wait longer with delayed listing approval.” A few pharmaceutical companies, on the other hand, gained some time with the delayed schedule. MSD with PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda (pembrolizumab) is the case. Keytruda was anticipating for the committee to deliberate reimbursement feasibility of its expanded indication in February. The company’s application included the indication as first-line treatment for NSCLC, bladder cancer and Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which have been denied previously, but also two new indications of first-line treatment for metastatic non-squamos NSCLC as a combination therapy with pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy, and first-line treatment for metastatic squamous NSCLC as combination therapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel were included as well. However, the government did not include Keytruda’s expanded reimbursement review on the February agenda. Details of the reason were not disclosed, but now that the meeting schedule is pushed, MSD has a chance to appeal Keytruda’s need for reimbursement and financial impact before the rescheduled meeting. Moreover, the Cancer Deliberation Committee was expected to review Ipsen’s Cabometyx (cabozantinib) in the February meeting as well. After receiving reimbursement as a second-line treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma, Cabometyx aims to receive more reimbursement on its liver cancer indication. Cabometyx could be a second-line treatment option for the indication covered by Eisai’s Lenvima (levatinib).
- Company
- Prescription guidance and label change for Xeljanz on UC
- by Nho, Byung Chul Feb 25, 2020 06:11am
- The Korean health authority is predicted to narrow down the use of Pfizer’s treatment for patients with ulcerative colitis, Xeljanz (tofacitinib citrate) soon. Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) is expected to conclude its decision on pharmaceutical safety and revising related indication of Xeljanz, as discussed in-depth with Pfizer Korea over last year. MFDS could not disclose details of the revised indication, but the ministry would highly likely to follow decisions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA). In last July, the U.S. FDA has pushed down the treatment line of Xeljanz from first-line treatment for ulcerative colitis to second-line treatment. After negotiating with FDA, the U.S. headquarter of Pfizer has inserted Black Box Warning in its labeling, and changed its indication for treating ulcerative colitis. With the change in the U.S., now Xeljanz is reserved to treat patients with ulcerative colitis, who have failed or do not tolerate conventional therapy, or tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers. In last November, EMA has recommended that 10 mg high-dose of Xeljanz should not be prescribed to all patients at high risk of blood clots in lung, including individuals taking hormonal contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy or scheduled to have a major surgery, unless there is no other option. The European authority has recommended patients with high risk of blood clots, who absolutely need high-dose of treatment for ulcerative colitis, should avoid Xeljanz but use other alternative option. After reviewing interim data from ongoing safety clinical trial of Xeljanz and TNF blocker-class Humira and Remicade, the U.S. and European health authorities have made the decisions. According to the interim data, 19 cases of blood clots in the lung out of 3,884 patient-years of patients administered with Xeljanz demonstrated a meaningful difference compared to three cases out of 3,982 patient-years in patients administered with TNF blockers. Xeljanz is indicated to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. 5 mg dose is administered twice-daily for rheumatoid arthritis, and for ulcerative colitis, 10 mg is administered twice-daily for eight weeks and continue the process with either 5 mg or 10 mg of Xeljanz twice-daily depending on treatment response. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan has also added venuous thromboelism as a ‘serious adverse reactions’ on Xeljanz’ label in last August. The ministry recommended medical professionals to consider other alternative when prescribing the drug on patients with high risk of cardiovascular events.
- Company
- Fresenius labor union conflict with management intensifies
- by An, Kyung-Jin Feb 25, 2020 06:11am
- The conflict between labor union and the management of Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) has emerged as the union intensified the fight against the management, who has been uncooperative in paying employees over 14 months and inking an agreement. Korea Democratic Pharmaceutical Union’s FMC Chapter has co-convened a press conference with UNI-Global Union on Feb. 21 at a National Assembly conference hall and denounced the company’s violation of Labor Standards Act. Headquarters in Bad Homburg, Germany, Fresenius is a large healthcare company earning EUR 30 billion annually from 100 countries around the globe. The company has 290,000 employees at the moment. Fresenius Kabi Korea, mainly supplying nutritional supplements in Korea, and Fresenius Medical Care, providing kidney dialyzer, dialysate, and dialysis service, are two business branches in Korea. The FMC Korea Chapter was founded in November, 2018, as a part of Korea Democratic Pharmaceutical Union, consisting of Korean pharmaceutical industry employees. Currently, 140 employees of FMC Korea are part of the chapter. Banners denouncing FMC violating the Labor Standards Act are hung in front of FMC Korea office located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul UNI-Global Union claimed, despite high-income structure of FMC, the company has not paid the Korean employees for their overtime and paid-vacation. And even after two years since the labor union was founded, the company has been refusing to discuss basics like recognition of labor union and time-off for the union staff, and deliberately delaying the negotiation procedure. UNI-Global Union official urged, “We have been reported by the Korean employees at FMC that the company has not responded to their request to negotiate with disrespectful attitude. We have confirmed that the management is persisting on basic rules in negotiating various benefits, such as the labor union’s participation in Penalty Committee, and overtime, night-work and paid-vacation payment.” The official added, “Not only has the management violated basic positive law, like providing a labor union office space and time-off for the union staff, but also it tried to minimize the membership of the union. Such deeds of gravely violating labor rights are unforgivable.” According to the provided statement, FMC labor union has conducted 20 sessions of negotiation with the management over 14 months, but the talk fell through on Feb. 6. On Feb. 10, the union has requested National Labor Relations Commission Seoul Office for arbitration. The first session was convened on Feb. 18, but no progress has been made. In last May, the company’s malpractice was reported to Ministry of Employment and Labor, which indicted the company for violating the related law and transferred the case to prosecutors. The FMC labor union plans to initiate strike against the management if it fails reach the middle ground at the second arbitration session scheduled on Mar. 2. Already 97 percent of 140 members have agreed to join the fight. Kim Gyu-nam, the FMC Chapter Head of Korea Democratic Pharmaceutical Union, reproached the company that “A German company with advanced labor relations culture has been ignoring an enforced labor law in Korea and refusing to recognize the labor relations. Over 70 employees are suffering from 30,000 hours of overtime every year. In payment, it would be worth around 600 million won.” Kim argued the management has never acknowledged the existence of the labor union by ignoring the duty of the labor union head, limiting labor union membership, and enforcing Early Retirement Plan (ERP) on employees working over 15 years. These are direct violation of Article 56 of the Labor Standard Act. Prior to Fresenius stockholders’ general meeting scheduled in coming May, UNI-Global Union forewarned of globally voicing the malpractice of Fresenius management at a forum co-organized by UNI, PSI, and IndustriALL. The forum would denounce the suspected tax avoidance of Fresenius executives and urge them to honor the labor rights. UNI-Global Union is the world’s biggest labor union, specifically protecting office workers in finance, mass media, IT, commerce, media and entertainment, postal service, sports and game industry. It represents 15 million members from over a thousand labor unions in 120 countries. Regarding the talks between the management and the union, the German company official was unable to provide detailed comments. FMC official said, “The management has continued to engage with the labor union to find the best means for everyone in past one year. And we have reached agreement on some of the topics. We respect their establishment and activity of the union, according to the Korean law. The company would continue to strive for consolidating advanced labor relations and to settle one an agreement.”
- Company
- Pneumonia vaccine & immune booster sales surged
- by Kim, Jin-Gu Feb 25, 2020 06:11am
- COVID-19 outbreak lasted for one month, and sales of pneumococcal vaccines and immune boosters also increased. Prevenar 13According to the industry on the 20th, Pfizer's pneumococcal vaccine, Prevenar 13, Prevena 13 sales soared during COVID-19 outbreak. According to Chong Kun Dang, which is currently in charge of domestic sales of Prevenar, Prevena 13 sales soared since February, when the COVID-19 crisis began in earnest in Korea. An official from Chong Kun Dang said, "There is no accurate statistics, but the sales volume so far has increased by 50% compared to last month. By the end of this month, it is expected to grow 900% from last year". "Vaccinations are usually the highest in October-December because of the nature of vaccines, and it is currently observed that sales volume is at the level of November-December", he said. In some regions, there are also concerns about out of stock. An official of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, a manufacturer, said, "We understand that the sales volume has increased, and we’ll our best to supply smoothly". Chong Kun Dang has been in charge of domestic distribution of prevenar for adults since December 2017. Previously, Yuhan Corporation was in charge of distribution. Prevenar is the top seller in the global pneumococcal vaccine market. In Korea, the company records annual sales of ￦30 billion. Prevenar has not been shown to be effective in preventing pneumonia caused by COVID-19. Prevenar, a pneumococcal vaccine, is literally a vaccine against pneumococcal infection. Pneumococci are one of the leading causes of pneumonia, accounting for 27-44% of the causes of pneumonia. The causative organism is different from COVID-19, and in principle it is impossible to prevent it. However, some experts recommend that inoculation of pneumococcal vaccines may help relieve symptoms. Although pneumonia caused by COVID-19 cannot be prevented, it helps to pass through only the mild symptoms of pneumonia. Aronamin productsIn addition to Prevenar, sales of immunity-related products also surged. It is a vitamin B·C product. Ildong Pharmaceutical's Aronamin product is a typical example. Ildong Pharmaceutical official said, "As we know, the sales volume of the aronamine product has increased by 40~50% compared to in January". In addition, Daewoong's 'Impactamine' and Chong Kun Dang's 'Benfobel' are reported to have increased in February. It is analyzed that it is influence of COVID-19 outbreak. Although it is not a vitamin product, Echinaforce, a respiratory immune enhancer of Hanwha Pharm, suffered a temporary out of stock situation early in the outbreak. According to Hanwha Pharmaceutical, the supply of this product was resumed on the 20th. An official of Hanwha Pharm said, "COVID-19 is showing signs of spreading, which is unexpected, leading to inquiries about products, and we did our best to supply urgently". Echinaforce is mainly derived from the raw material Echinacea. Hanwha Pharm explained that it could help to boost antiviral, anti-inflammatory and immunity.
