4 Vemlidy latecomers reimbursed in Korea

...adopts varying pricing strategies

7 companies including the existing Dong-A ST, Chong Kun Dang, and Daewoong Pharmaceutical compete to preoccupy the market

Samjin Pham and Hutex's products set at the highest price...Samil Pharm and Dongkook Pharmaceutical at the lowest price

Gilead’s original hepatitis B treatment

Four more Vemlidy latecomers will be entering the market.

 

Currently, only 3 products by Dong-A ST, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, and Chong Kun Dang are available in the market.

 

Its original drug is Gilead Science Korea’s Vemlidy Tab.

 

According to industry sources on the 25th, Samjin Pharm, Korea Hutex Pharma, Samil Pharm, and Dongkook Pharmaceutical’s tenofovir alafenamide hemimalte hepatitis B treatments will be reimbursed from July.

 

The latecomers are all incrementally modified drugs that were developed with different salt formations than the original Vemlidy’s tenofovir ala fenamide hemitartar hydrochloride.

 

Four companies have succeeded in avoiding Vemlidy’s salt patent with their salt-modified drugs.

 

With the 4 additions, 7 salt-modified drug products of Vemlidy are now available in the Korean market.

 

With Donga ST being the first to be listed in February, Daewoong and Chong Kun Dang also launched and received reimbursement for their respective IMDs in March.

 

All 3 were salt-modified drugs that avoided Vemlidy’s salt patent.

 

The ceiling price of the products that will be released in July can be divided into the highest and lowest price groups.

 

Samjin Pham and Hutex set their drugs’ price at the highest price, at 90% of the original drug's price, according to the pricing formula used for salt-modified drugs, at KRW 3,033 per tablet.

 

However, Samil Pharm and Dongkook Pharmaceutical set the price of their drugs at KRW 2,425 and KRW 2,424, each, the lowest price among the 7 salt-modified drugs introduced in the market.

 

This was interpreted as the companies’ decision to give up the formula price and list their drugs for reimbursement at the lowest estimated sales price among their competitors.

 

The previous 3 companies had also adopted a low-price strategy.

 

Dong-A ST, Daewoong, and Chong Kun Dang all gave up the formula price and listed their drugs at the lowest price.

 

As a result, the price of Donga ST product was set at KWR 2,400, Daewoong’s at KRW 2,473 won, and Chong Kun Dang’s at KRW 2,439.

 

The original Vemlidy’s price is KRW 3,370, and the companies of the latecomer IMDs were found to have chosen price competitiveness over profit to preoccupy the market.

 

Vemlidy has been showing rapid growth in Korea’s hepatitis B treatment market, posting outpatient prescriptions of KRW 47.1 billion (UBIST) in Korea last year Only a few companies were able to develop drugs that avoid Vemlidy’s patent and receive reimbursement.

 

Therefore, the small number of companies are working to secure as much market share as possible until a generic version with the same ingredients as Vemlidy is released.

 

Meanwhile, Samjin’s Taflead Tab which is set to be reimbursed in July will be sold by Bukwang Pharmaceutical, which is well known in the hepatitis B treatment market for its self-developed new drug Levovir.

 

Samjin is in charge of product production and supply.