AbbVie’s Rinvoq to benefit most from changes in KOR

Expanded indication to adolescents aged 12 and over from March and was granted expanded reimbursement

Treatment options broadened with the approval for switching between biological agents and JAK inhibitors

"Flexible patient-specific choice can be made when selecting initial treatment”

Expansion has been growing on the expansion of related prescription markets with the government approving reimbursement for switching between atopic dermatitis treatments, which has been in high demand in the field.

 

The industry expects an increased number of treatment options and an expanded scope of reimbursement to enable more effective treatment for patients.

 

In particular, the presence of Rinvoq (upadacitinib) has been growing with its indication expansion to moderate to severe atopic dermatitis in adolescents aged 12 and older, and the grant for switching between JAK inhibitors.

 

On the 7th, AbbVie Korea held a press conference on the latest clinical research of Rinvoq and changes in the treatment environment due to changes in the atopic dermatitis reimbursement coverage standards.

 

Tae Young Han, Professor of Dermatology, Nowon Eulji Medical Center

According to the Korean Atopic Dermatitis Association guidelines, patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis are highly recommended to consider switching to another biological agent or oral JAK inhibitor if they do not respond sufficiently to the biological agent or oral JAK inhibitor or if they cannot use them due to side effects.

 

Until now, there have been limitations to treatment due to the fact that reimbursement coverage was not applied when the patient wanted to switch from biological agents to JAK inhibitors.

 

However, from the 1st of this month, ▲if a patient is not responding to a biological agent or a JAK inhibitor, or ▲if the patient cannot continue taking the medication due to side effects (recommended to continue taking the replaced medication for at least 6 months), the patient will be eligible for reimbursement even if the patient has switched to a JAK inhibitor or biological agent.

 

However, switching between the same class of drugs is not allowed.

 

Professor Tae Young Han of the Department of Dermatology at Nowon Eulji Medical Center who made a presentation on this day, said, “Atopic dermatitis is a disease that has symptoms and manifestations depending on the characteristics of the patient, and a personalized treatment strategy is needed for each patient to receive appropriate treatment.

 

The recognition of reimbursement coverage for switching has opened up new treatment opportunities for patients who have not seen sufficient treatment effects so far.” Han added, “Patients who have had side effects or showed an inadequate response to biological agents can be switched to a JAK inhibitor such as Rinvoq to achieve an appropriate treatment response.

 

In addition, with the availability of reimbursement coverage, it is now possible to prioritize the use of treatments that are expected to be highly effective for each patient, from his or her initial treatment.” The reason why the expansion of Rinvoq’s influence is drawing attention is because of the Heads Up trial, which is a head-to-head trial between Dupixent (dupilumab), the biological agent with the most prescriptions, and Rinvoq.

 

The results showed that 90% of patients who switched to Rinvoq (30 mg) after 24 weeks of dupilumab (300 mg) achieved EASI 90 (an almost clear skin condition) at Week 16 of Rinvoq treatment (40 weeks in total), and 56.1% achieved WP-NRS 0/1 (no or almost no itching).

 

Yong Hyun Jang, Professor of Dermatology at Kyungpook National University said, “For moderate or more severe atopic dermatitis, the use of drugs that have quick and high efficacy in the early stages needs to be prioritized to quickly suppress severe itching.

 

With switching between different classes of drugs granted reimbursement in Korea, the burden of choosing Rinvoq as the initial treatment option will be reduced as its long-term safety has been confirmed in clinical trials.” According to the results of the approximately 4-year follow-up of the extension study of Phase III clinical study on Rinvoq (Measure Up 1, Measure Up 2), among patients who received 15 mg and 30 mg Rinvoq, 69.8% and 72.9% of patients maintained EASI 90 and 44.9% and 47.2% of the patients maintained WP-NRS 0/1, respectively.

 

Yong Hyun Jang, Professor of Dermatology at Kyungpook National University

The indication expansion to adolescents aged 12 and older and the reimbursement expansion for Rinvoq also received positive evaluations.

 

Professor Jang said, “Adolescents require sufficient sleep for growth and development, and lesions on visible areas such as the face and neck are especially stressful at that age.

 

This is a very important period to prevent exacerbation of atopic dermatitis in adulthood, so the importance of early treatment is even greater.

 

I expect the changes in the approval environment in Korea will help establish a flexible treatment strategy.” Jiho Kang, Country Medical Director of AbbVie Korea, added, “With the approval of switching and the approval for adolescents and the expanded insurance reimbursement coverage, we hope that the flexible dose strategy of Rinvoq will help improve the quality of life and enable patients to enjoy daily life that is no different from that of the general public through Rinvoq’s fast and strong treatment effect.” Meanwhile, due to the approval of switching, Rinvoq’s insurance price has been cut due to expected additional claims, based on the calculation formula.

 

Due to this expansion of the scope of use, the insurance price ceiling of Rinvoq will be reduced from the previous KRW 18,740 to KRW 18,328 for the 15 mg product and from the previous KRW 29,850 to KRW 29,193 for the 30 mg product starting next month.