Biosimilars are growing at 52% among pharmaceutical exports

Biosimilars account for over half of total exports

156 listed companies in the first quarter of pharmaceuticals, sales of ₩6 trillion

The KHIDI, announced major performances such as health industry exports, jobs, and management performance

Pharmaceutical exports in the first half of this year were $3.8 billion, up 52.5% from the previous year's $2.5 billion.

 

Biosimilars account for 52% of export items ($1.98 billion).

 

he KHIDI (Director, Deok-cheol Kwon) held a press conference at 11:00 am on the 29th and announced major performance trends such as health industry exports, jobs, and management performance in the first half of 2020.

 

The announcement was made by the director of the Health Industry Innovation Planning Team, Dong-Woo Han.

 

In particular, in the first half of this year, despite the deteriorating external conditions caused by the worldwide spread of COVID-19, the domestic health industry emerged as a growth export industry as it was rated as a 'K-defense' model country.

 

Since the occurrence of COVID-19, exports of diagnostic devices and sanitary products have surged, and domestic biopharmaceutical exports have continued to expand, ranking sixth in the export rankings, rising four levels compared to the same period last year.

 

◆Export trends in the first half of this year=exports of the health industry in the first half totaled $9.6 billion, followed by pharmaceutical products of $3.8 billion, cosmetics of $3.4 billion, and medical devices of $2.3 billion.

 

In the case of pharmaceuticals, exports of domestically produced disinfectants (Korea Customs Service's import and export classification HSK 3808940000) increased explosively ($3.35 million → $230 million) compared to the same period last year, and exports increased 52.5% year-on-year.

 

Exports to the United States, where COVID-19 is continuously spreading, surged since March, accounting for 52.1% of total disinfectant exports, followed by 25.6% in Japan and 5.4%.

 

in China.

 

The countries that export biosimilars are Germany ($640 million), the United States ($350 million), Turkey ($320 million), and Belgium ($160 million).

 

Exports of medical device diagnostic products have increased significantly since March, and have exported $730 million in the first half of the year to 173 countries such as the United States, Brazil, India, and Italy.

 

This is 31.4% of total exports.

 

However, despite increasing exports of diagnostic products, ultrasound imaging equipment (US$50.1 million → US$15 million) and implants (US$54.5 million → US$48.8 million), faced disruption in face-to-face operations in China, suspension of dental operations, and reduction in inpatients after COVID-19 For example, sluggish earnings also contributed to the decline in exports.

 

The total number of workers in the health industry in the first half of this year was 931,000, an increase of 29,000 compared to the same period last year.

 

By sector, drugs were 74,000, medical devices 52,000, cosmetics 37,000, and medical services 768,000.

 

In the field of pharmaceuticals, the number of workers increased 4.2% compared to the same period last year due to the development and investment of influenza vaccines caused by COVID-19.

 

Among the detailed industries, the number of drug manufacturing workers increased by 2,043 compared to the same period last year, the largest increase, and the manufacturing of pharmaceutical compounds and antibiotics increased by 533.

 

◆Management performance in the first quarter of this year=280 companies listed in the health industry, and the total sales amounted to ₩1.07 trillion, an increase of ₩1.1 trillion compared to the same period last year.

 

In terms of sales growth by sector, pharmaceuticals are 20.5%, medical devices 28.2%, and cosmetics 5.6%.

 

The R&D expenditure amounted to ₩800 billion, accounting for 41.5% of pharmaceuticals and 7.4% of medical devices.

 

156 companies were listed in the first quarter, with sales of ₩6 trillion.

 

Despite the COVID-19, the domestic prescription drug market rose slightly, and the sales of pharmaceutical companies increased due to increased sales of biosimilar products to the European and US markets.

 

n particular, Celltrion Healthcare's biosimilar products are accelerating to the U.S.

 

(Inflectra, Truxima, Herzuma), and biosimilar products are continuing to be popular in Europe (Ramshima SC) and Chong Kun Dang's existing flagship items and the growth of newly introduced items (Kcab Prolia) has been strong.

 

Sales growth by pharmaceutical companies increased by 159.6% for Celltrion Healthcare, 80.5% for Celltrion, 25.2% for Chong Kun, 65.3% for Samsung Biologics, and 41.1% for Dong-A ST.

 

The KHIDI predicted that the domestic pharmaceutical industry will continue to maintain its competitive edge over global pharmaceutical companies by preoccupying the market by launching new products and expanding prescriptions for biosimilar products in Europe and the US.

 

◆Accelerated advancement into biosimilars =The creation of high value-added products through the expansion of global market share, such as the launch of new drugs in the global market and the expansion of overseas technology transfer, led to the export of medicines.

 

Among domestic pharmaceutical companies, Celltrion and Samsung Bioepis are preoccupying the market by obtaining first biosimilars in Europe and the United States.

 

In the European market, Ramsima accounted for 60%, Trukshima 39%, and Hersuma 19%.

 

As of January of this year, the status of domestic and overseas biosimilar licenses obtained at domestic and international markets is as follows: Celltrion’s Remsima, Truxima, and Herzuma, Samsung Bioepis’ Benepali, Eticovo, Flixabi, Renflexis, Imraldi, Hadlima, Ontruzant, and Samfenet.

 

“The global economy and supply chain uncertainty have increased due to the prolonged COVID-19, but the domestic health industry has maintained growth compared to other industries, such as exports, jobs, and management performance, until the first half,” said Dong-Woo Han.

 

He emphasized, "In the future, the domestic health industry needs to support policy to preemptively prepare for the post COVID-19 era by accelerating the Korean version of the new deal, such as strengthening the D.N.A ecosystem and non-face-to-digital transformation."