Cibinqo is slightly cheaper than Rinvoq in Korea

among oral atopic dermatitis drugs used in adolescent patients

Cibinqo’s reimbursement listing triggers a full-fledged competition in the JAKi atopic dermatitis treatment market

Cibinqo 100mg KRW 17,739 > Rinvoq 15mg KRW 19,831

Rinvoq (left) and Cibinqo, JAK inhibitors that are reimbursed for the treatment of adolescents aged 12 years or older with atopic dermatitis

With Pfizer’s Cibinqo (abrocitinib), which is attracting attention as an oral treatment option for adolescent patients with atopic dermatitis, set to be listed for reimbursement in July this year, its competition with the already-reimbursed Rinvoq sustained-release tablet (Upadacitinib), is expected to start in full-scale next month.

 

Cibinqo started drug pricing negotiations for its reimbursement in March last year.

 

At the time, its reimbursement was expected in May to June at the earliest, but the period was somewhat delayed.

 

As a result, Cibinqo received reimbursement 3 months later than Rinvoq, which was granted reimbursement for atopic dermatitis in adolescents in April.

 

As a result, Cibinqo was listed for reimbursement at a slightly lower price than Rinvoq.

 

According to industry sources on the 23rd, Pfizer’s Cibinqo Tab 50mg, 100mg, and 200mg will be listed with reimbursement at KRW 11,087, KRW 17,739, and KRW 25,942, respectively, for the treatment of atopic dermatitis.

 

Its ceiling price is known to be 88% of the arithmetic average price of alternative drugs.

 

As a result, Cibinqo became the second drug following Rinvoq to be reimbursed among oral JAK inhibitors as a treatment for atopic dermatitis in adolescent patients aged over 12 years of age.

 

Rinvoq ER 15mg has been granted reimbursement for the treatment of adolescents aged 12 years or older with atopic dermatitis in April in addition to its existing reimbursement for adults.

 

With the reimbursement extension, the ceiling price for Rinvoq was reduced by 5.1%.

 

Also, its KRW 20,000 line collapsed due to the price-volume agreement system.

 

The industry believes the reduced price of Rinvoq to have affected that of Cibinqo.

 

As a latecomer in the market, Cibinqo’s price was set even lower than that of Rinvoq.

 

The 100mg dose is the recommended dose for adolescent patients aged 12 years or older with atopic dermatitis, and the same patients are recommended to use the Rinvoq ER 15mg dose.

 

Both are taken orally, one tablet a day.

 

The price of Cibinqo 100mg is KRW 17,339, and Rinvoq ER is KRW 19,831.

 

Cibinqo is slightly cheaper than Rinvoq, as Cibinqo 100mg’s price is 89% of that of Rinvoq ER 15mg.

 

Due to the very subtle difference, the difference in the ceiling price is deemed to have an insignificant impact on sales.

 

Therefore, the competition to preoccupy the oral drug market for adolescent patients with atopic dermatitis is expected to start in earnest in July.

 

Meanwhile, among biological injections, Dupixent (dupilumab, Sanofi) was reimbursed for atopic dermatitis in children and adolescents in April.

 

While Dupixent, which posted sales of over KRW 100 billion won (based on IQVIA) last year alone, is firmly leading the atopic dermatitis treatment market, attention is focused on how the introduction of the two oral medications will affect the market structure in the adolescent atopic dermatitis market.