Eliquis 13%, Xarelto 49% of DOAC Generics mkt

Prescription of Xarelto generics surge after Eliquis generics withdraw from market

Q3 prescriptions totaled KRW 1.9 billion — about half the KRW 3.7 billion recorded before withdrawal

Xarelto generics reach 49% share, nearly surpassing the original

In Korea’s direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) market, Eliquis (apixaban) generics have regained a 13% market share within a year of re-entering the market.

 

However, that figure remains roughly half the level prior to their withdrawal.

 

By contrast, Xarelto (rivaroxaban) generics have continued to expand their presence, reaching a 49% market share, has raised its market share to around 49%, poised to overtake the original.

 

Analysis suggests that when Eliquis generics withdrew from the market, the focus shifted to Xarelto generics, making market penetration difficult for the Eliquis generics.

 

1 year after the re-entry of Eliquis generics...

 

Market share around 13% According to the market research institution UBIST on the 20th, Eliquis generics recorded combined prescription sales of KRW 1.9 billion in Q3.

 

Its market share in the apixaban-based DOAC treatment market stands at around 13%.

 

Eliquis generics re-entered the DOAC market in Q4 last year.

 

Eliquis generics initially entered the market in June 2019, when several companies launched products following first- and second-instance patent rulings in their favor.

 

However, the situation reversed in April 2021 when the Supreme Court overturned the lower court rulings and sided with the originator, BMS.

 

As a result, generic manufacturers immediately withdrew their products.

 

This led to a three-and-a-half-year gap before their re-entry in September 2023, just ahead of the patent expiration on the apixaban compound.

 

Quarterly prescriptions of Eliquis and Eliquis generics

Since re-entering, Eliquis generics have struggled to regain momentum.

 

Before withdrawal (in Q1 2021), total prescriptions had reached KRW 3.7 billion, representing a 24% share of the apixaban DOAC market.

 

Compared to just before withdrawal, prescription sales are at half the level, and market share shows a difference exceeding 10% points.

 

Although prescription sales have gradually increased since its market re-entry, evaluations indicate this growth falls short of expectations.

 

Share of Xarelto generics' surged after Eliquis generics withdrawn from the market Analysis suggests that the market momentum shifted decisively toward Xarelto generics during Eliquis generics’ three-year absence, The first Xarelto generics were launched in Q2 2021, coinciding with the Supreme Court’s reversal in the Eliquis case.

 

Although Xarelto’s substance patent did not expire until October 2021, five companies entered the market early.

 

After patent expiry in Q4 2021, Xarelto generics rapidly expanded both prescription volume and market share.

 

By Q1 2023, total prescriptions had reached KRW 3.7 billion, capturing over 30% of the rivaroxaban DOAC market.

 

In Q3 this year, prescription sales further increased to KRW 7.2 billion.

 

Its market share in the rivaroxaban market rose to around 49%.

 

The pharmaceutical industry anticipates that it will soon surpass the original drug's market share.

 

Quarterly prescriptions of major DOAC drugs in Korea

Consequently, the positions of Eliquis generics and Xarelto generics have reversed.

 

After Eliquis generics withdrew from the market due to the Supreme Court's reversal ruling, generic companies shifted their marketing focus to Xarelto generics, leading to increased prescription volume and market share, according to analysis.

 

Reversed fortunes…Eliquis generic sales halted·focus on Xarelto generic sales intensifies In fact, some companies have not launched generics even after Eliquis' substance patent expired.

 

Yuhan Corporation sold its Eliquis generic ‘Yuhan Apixaban’ before the Supreme Court ruling, achieving cumulative prescriptions worth over KRW 2.5 billion.

 

However, it has stopped selling the product since the patent gap emerged.

 

Instead, Yuhan has focused on selling its Xarelto generic ‘Yuhan Rivaroxaban’, achieving cumulative prescriptions worth KRW 3.3 billion.

 

Hanmi Pharmaceutical made a similar shift, halting sales of its Eliquis generic ‘Apixban’ and focusing on its Xarelto generic, Riroxaban, which recorded KRW 2.2 billion in Q3 — the highest among all Xarelto generics.

 

Chong Kun Dang and Samjin Pharmaceutical continue to market both Eliquis and Xarelto generics, though the latter’s performance is nearly twice as strong.

 

Chong Kun Dang’s Eliquis generic Liquisia recorded KRW 600 million in Q3 prescriptions, compared to the KRW 1.2 billion made with its Xarelto generic Riroxia.

 

Similarly, Samjin’s Eliquis generic Elxaban posted KRW 700 million, while its Xarelto generic Rivoxaban reached KRW 1.2 billion.