Generic drugs enter KRW 150 billion Prolia market

Dominates the osteoporosis drug market with its convenience and effectiveness

Celltrion launches a generic drug on the 17th of next month upon Prolia’s patent expiry

Will lower the price to secure drug price competitiveness

A competitor to Prolia (Amgen, co-marketed by Chong Kun Dang), which has dominated the market for osteoporosis treatment with its convenience and efficacy, will be released next month.

 

Celltrion will make the launch.

 

Celltrion plans to launch its biosimilar after the expiration of the Prolia product patent on the 17th of next month.

 

According to industry sources on the 24th, Celltrion's Prolia biosimilar ‘Stoboclo Prefilled Syringe (denosumab)' will be listed as a reimbursed drug on March 18.

 

The insurance ceiling price of the drug is KRW 111,384, which is cheaper than Prolia (KRW 154,700).

 

Celltrion could have charged a higher price, but it lowered the price.

 

This is interpreted as a measure that takes into account the drug’s price competitiveness in the market.

 

As a result, patients can now receive the same drug at a lower price.

 

Initially, Celltrion could have listed the drug at KRW 123,760 by receiving an additional 80% premium as a bio-equivalent drug by an innovative pharmaceutical company.

 

Prolia, which was launched in Korea in November 2016, dominates the domestic osteoporosis treatment market.

 

Conventional treatments are affected by meal intake, and if the dose is increased, Prolia maintains its effectiveness with a single injection every 6 months, greatly improving convenience.

 

This drug is a biopharmaceutical that targets the RANKL protein, which forms osteoclasts that destroy bones.

 

In particular, there is clinical evidence that the drug remains effective even after 10 years of administration.

 

Its sales in 2023, based on IQVIA sales, had been a whopping KRW 151.1 billion.

 

It has been dominating the market without any competitors, but with the entry of Celltrion's biosimilar, it will face competition.

 

Meanwhile, Celltrion will also launch the biosimilar Xgeva, a treatment for multiple myeloma based on denosumab, on the same day.

 

The 2 drugs have the same ingredients but different uses.

 

Since the ingredients are the same, the expiration date of the product patent is also the same.

 

Xgeva recorded sales of KRW 10.5 billion in 2023 based on IQVIA's data.