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- 2026-04-17 08:54:42
- Policy
- A set of three bills about COVID-19 was passed
- by Lee, Jeong-Hwan Feb 28, 2020 06:01am
- The National Assembly held a plenary session at 2 pm on the 26th and passed 'a set of three bills about COVID-19' and a proposal for a special committee for countermeasures against the COVID-19. A set of three bills about COVID-19 came into effect after government promulgation, and the ruling & the opposition parties had the authority to act immediately upon the resolution of the National Assembly. Thus, if the price of quarantine goods such as medicines rises rapidly or there is a shortage of supply due to the first-class infectious disease, the Minister of Health and Welfare may prohibit the export or export of goods such as masks and antiseptics for a certain period of time. A legal basis has also been established to enforce inspection, self-assessment, and treatment of COVID-19 Super spreader #31 If a person who is concerned about an infectious disease epidemic or who has stayed or passed through an infected disease area refuses to take measures such as self-containment, facility isolation, symptom check, investigation, and medical examination, he or she may be sentenced to jail for less than one year or fined up to ₩10 million. The number of quarantine officials at the health ministry would rise to more than 100 from the current 30. In some cities, counties, and districts, there is a legal basis for mandatory epidemiological investigators. In addition, it is mandatory for medical institutions and pharmacies to operate the International Traveler Information System (ITS) at all times. Even if the law is violated, there is no administrative provisions such as penalties. The amendment to the Quarantine Act allows the Minister of Health and Welfare to ask the Minister of Justice to prohibit or suspend entry for persons entering or transiting from areas where epidemic or epidemic is prevalent. The Medical Law passed by the plenary has established the name and definition of medical infections, and strengthened the medical institution's infection monitoring system and self-reporting provisions.The COVID-19 Special Committee of the ruling and opposition parties has also completed the procedures necessary for the formation and launch. The parliament agreed to form a special committee for the COVID-19, and the chairman, Han Pyo Kim was appointed by the Democratic Party. The Special Committee decided to devise comprehensive measures at the parliamentary level, such as resolving the instability of the COVID-19 and supporting budgets and institutions to minimize economic damage. It is also the task of the Special Committee to strengthen quarantine measures, improve response manuals and develop support measures. Including Kim in the Democratic Party and a special committee secretariat, Dong-min Ki, also the ruling party Health and Welfare Commissioner, Nine members like Sang-hee Kim, Eui-rak Hong, Seung-rae Cho, Ki-joon Shim, Jung Park, Young-ho Kim, and Yun-jeong Hur were included in the committee. the United Future Party was elected by Senator Seung-hee Kim, former Minister of the MFDS, with Sang-jin Shin, Kyung-won Na, Chae-ik Lee, Dae-chul Park, Sun-rye Kim, Seung-ju Baek, and Tae-ok Jung. Representative Kwang-soo Kim participated in the Minsaeng Party, which was created by three Honam parties, including the Barennmirae Party, the New Alternatives Party, and the Party for Democracy and Peace. The task force of the special committee is until May 29, when the 20th National Assembly ends.
- COVID-19: International exhibition and conferences canceled
- by Choi, sun Feb 28, 2020 06:01am
- A number of organizations waited and watched the rapid spread of COVID-19 have decided to call of their key events. The organizers of international exhibitions like annual Medical Korea and international conferences had initially planned to push on with the schedule, but decided to given up on the events due to the concern of the outbreak. According to pharmaceutical industry source on Feb. 25, Medical Korea 2020, hosted by Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) and organized by Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), has been canceled. Medical Korea is considered as Asia’s biggest healthcare exhibition. The mega healthcare show hosts over 180 companies from China, the U.S., Japan, Russia, CIS, Malaysia, and Singapore and welcomes over 3,000 visitors. Medical Korea organizer stated, “Due to the spread of COVID-19, the infectious disease alert level has gone up to ‘severe.’ The event had to be inevitably canceled.” The official explained, “The event was not canceled because of reduced number of participating companies and their booths. We hope the participants and visitors would understand the situation as we have put the visitors’ safety first.” Originally scheduled from Mar. 19 to 21, Medical Korea was called off, instead of postponed, because it is unclear when COVID-19 would subside. Major international conferences would get postponed or canceled as well. As increasing number of pharmaceutical companies have decided to drop out and Korean Academy of Medical Sciences (KAMS) is highly recommending for reschedule, academic societies initially committed to open the events regardless of the situation have eventually changed their minds. ▲Academic societies take heavy blow from with KAMS recommendation and drop in booth numbers KAMS issued an official statement recommending international conferences to postpone dates. Officials of KAMS said, “Academic societies should positively review adjusting or postponing planned event schedule for the safety of conference participants. KAMS would not re-deliberate international conferences in Korea that KAMS already reviewed.” Korean Shoulder and Elbow Society (KSES) was insisting on hosting its international conference on Mar. 20, regardless of the COVID-19 spreading, but it changed its decision suddenly. KSES official stated, “As the community spread of COVID-19 has been reported though out the country, we have decided the safety and health of conference participants should come first. The 28th spring conference would be tentatively postponed to July 18 and 19.” The disappointing results of recent conferences have reportedly influenced the decision. Korean Society of Cardiometabolic Syndrome (KSCMS) held Asia-Pacific Cardiometabolic Syndrome Congress (APCMS) 2020 on Feb. 21, but only a half of expected participants have attended the event fearing the outbreak. Also the unenthusiastic number of booth registration by pharmaceutical companies is affecting the inevitable decision to cancel the event. A pharmaceutical company insider commented, “Employees, not only from Daegu or North Gyeongsang Province, but from all regions are to work from home starting today. Visiting academic conference or hospital requires director’s approval.” The insider hinted, “We are avoiding external work as much as possible as we need to get approval when visiting an event or hospital. Even if we receive a request to participate in academic conference, we either kindly decline the request or send in minimum number of employees for the said reason.” Other pharmaceutical companies are not too different. Another company official explained, “The Compliance Program department is in charge of accepting and registering sales employees for their legal and ethics code compliance training. Since the outbreak, no one has applied for participation in an academic conference.” Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has also postponed group sanitary education to well after April and promoted online class instead as the COVID-19 outbreak alert level has been raised to ‘severe.’ The education class is provided to food business owners for before opening a business and every year from then on. Korean Diabetes Association seminar would be conducted online as well. Concerned of spreading the infection, the association has decided to provide the 23rd Educator’s Seminar online for diabetes educator.s
- Policy
- What is the solution to the COVID-19 crisis?
- by Lee, Jeong-Hwan Feb 28, 2020 06:01am
- To reduce the number of serious and death patients, the burden on medical institutions should be minimized. Abandoning the idea that a hospital should see a minor patient unconditionally, and dispatching a medical team, but it is possible to efficiently manage infection by securing a management bed of a serious patient. (Professor Jung-sik Eom, Gachon University Gil Medical Center) As COVID-19 reached the critical stage of crisis warning, experts from the medical field of infectious diseases met with President Moon and urged to address the shortage of quarantine items such as screening of serious and severe patients and masks. On January 24, Cheongwadae said it held a top aide meeting presided over by President Moon from 2pm to 4pm. There were ten members including Kyung-ran Baek, Chairman of the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases , Dong-hyun Kim, Chairman of the Korean Society of Epidemiology, Tak Hur, Chairman of the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine, Seong-ran Kim, Chairman of the Korean Association of Infection Control Nurses, and Committee working TF official. The promotion of public hygiene regulations has led to the need for the public to cooperate with the medical staff at the forefront. Another suggestion was to expand the mitigation policy by focusing on the outbreak of infections in Daegu and Gyeongbuk. Kyung-ran Baek, Chairman of the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases said, "We should apply mitigation policies to minimize damage to Daegu, Gyeongbuk, Busan, and Gyeongnam, and rather than washing your hands vaguely, must specify this way of publicity that you wash your hands frequently with soap, for more than 30 seconds, and cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or sleeve when you cough or sneeze". Sang-il Kim, the TF chief of the Pan-Academic COVID-19 Countermeasures Committee, said, “it is necessary to change people's awareness. The people are one axis, not the target of the quarantine system. It is not just hard to wash hands, but it is very necessary for the people's efforts”. Dong-hyun Kim, Chairman of the Korean Society of Epidemiology, said that several stage upgrades were appropriate, but organizational changes should not occur. Changes in policy and response are needed. Also, he added that it is urgent to make local people dissemination behaviors, and it is important to cooperate with civil society in the mitigation policy. The message that the situation can be overcome should come from many communities, organizations and groups. There were also opinions on the need for prevention and treatment strategies to further shape the role of hospitals for treating mild and severe patients. Hee-Jin Chung, Vice Chairman of the Korean Society for Antimicrobial Therapy, said, “We need a strategy for local governments to quickly designate the role of critically ill hospitals among patients who are diagnosed, and maintaining the existing medical system, but the gap between local governments, suggests the operation of a special advisory group at the central measures headquarters in the prime minister". Professor Jung-sik Eom, Gachon University Gil Medical Center also said, "The treatment of mild patients needs special measures. If a patient is self-isolated at a specific facility, such as Koreans withdrew from Wuhan, the medical staff can go to the facility and can secure the bed". He said that it's a different idea to reduce infections in hospitals, If the hospital burden increases, one seriously ill person can infect the whole like Cheongdo Daenam Hospital. Even medical institutions lamented that they were suffering from supply of protective equipment for infectious diseases such as masks. Seong-ran Kim, Chairman of the Korean Association of Infection Control Nurses, said, “even medical institutions are hard to find protective equipment, so they use masks little by little, and please consider the way to produce and control the protective equipment at the national level to share goods". Eun-hwa Choi, vice chairman of the Korean Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases, said, “The spread of community infections can cause children to infect the community. Although the school delayed a week, children are often cared for by older grandparents, who are susceptible to infection. It is needed to introduce paid vacation for parents to care for them at home”.
- Company
- Pharmaceutical staff struggle to work from home
- by Jung, Hye-Jin Feb 27, 2020 06:35am
- In the aftermath of COVID-19, face-to-face sales activities at pharmaceutical companies have declined, and alternative sales activities are increasing online. From academic papers provided by the company to light-looking articles created by the company. Pharmaceutical officials are working hard to maintain relationships with hospital doctors. But behind these phenomena lies the pressure that salespeople must meet their current goals during their telecommuting work, as well as their admiration for proving sales to the company. According to the pharmaceutical industry, COVID-19 is showing signs of spread across the country. The meeting between the pharmaceutical company representative and the hospital doctor is virtually suspended. Currently, most hospitals forbid the entry of pharmaceutical company Staff because they are concerned about the spread of infectious diseases. The Korean Medical Practitioners Association, a group of clinic-level doctors, sent a letter to the Korea Pharmaceutical Bio Association and the KRPIA on the 20th requesting refusal to visit sales representatives. Since a clinic has been banned from entering a pharmaceutical company, there are a growing number of pharmaceutical companies that choose to work from home. A number of multinational pharmaceutical companies, including Amgen Korea, Pfizer Korea, Novartis Korea, MSD Korea, and Roche Korea, have started working from home. Among domestic pharmaceutical companies, LG Chem, GC Pharma, CJ Healthcare, Jeil Pharm, Dong-wha Pharm, Hanmi Pharm, etc., have been working from home in full or some sales employees. As of the 24th, when the government upgraded the stage of infectious disease crisis to "severe" and delayed the opening of kindergartens and schools, more pharma companies returned to work at home. Separately, on the 25th, the building was closed at LS Yongsan Tower, located in Yongsan, Seoul, and the entire building was closed. GSK, Jansen Korea, and Johnson & Johnson Korea, which are in this building, have been working at home. As the path to face-to-face doctors is blocked, pharmaceutical company managers are turning to online sales activities. The easiest way is to deliver the company-provided academic materials and data to your doctor by kakao talk or text. Some pharmaceutical companies have been developing and operating online platforms to deliver academic information about their products to medical professionals even before the incident. For example, HMP, a medical portal site for Hanmi Pharm, and 'Smart e-Catalog' recently developed by JW Shinyak. Salespeople can easily communicate product information by sending them a link with product details that might be of interest to their major. Further sales staff are appealing to doctors with their own videos or content during their internal and telecommuting hours. Some officials are using relationships that aren't necessarily academic information to keep doctors in touch with fun videos and short humor. A pharmaceutical sales representative said, "There aren't many things we can do at home. We can call a member of the parliament and ask if there is anything they need". Another pharmaceutical company official said, "It's difficult to meet, so it's a trend to send various messages to physicians. Among them, a person who makes a funny video well responds well to doctors". Many of the companies that have switched from outside work to at home also offer internal training for sales. Among them, related product training is not enough to fill the time, so it is recommended to produce the video for each team. This alternative is for the salesperson to imprint himself and the pharmaceutical company to the doctor under the face-to-face prohibition and maintain a good relationship. After that, the company's policy is to maintain the sales staff's monthly sales target and pharmacy's quota as usual even after making a telecommuting work. Along with the net function of alternative operations, the counter function is also being discussed. This is because some of the intentions to focus on sales are regarded as the high pollution of kakaotalk. Salespeople are also sharing the know-how that light and pleasant messages are more effective than heavy academic information. A pharmaceutical salesman said, "work from home was decided, but my goal is the same. Even if I work at home, I feel uncomfortable, so I have no choice but to keep my prescription on the phone or kakaotalk, I can prove to your manager that you worked at that time".
- InterView
- On how Eisa’s intrapreneur ‘HeLpy’ is ‘happy’
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Feb 27, 2020 06:35am
- Lately, companies emphasize a notion of internal entrepreneurship, also known as ‘intrapreneurship.’ For companies, innovation is not an option anymore. And this is the time when intrapreneurship becomes the source of internal innovation. So these days, ‘internal venture’ is popular among companies. Without massive investment, an internal venture can be incorporated with existing business, and also it could leave an impression of innovative and young brand image. Pharmaceutical industry recently had an impressive case of intrapreneurship. It is Eisai Korea’s ‘HeLpy’ team. Based on the management philosophy of ‘Human Health Care (HHC),’ all employees of Eisai around the world spend 1 percent of their working time every year to engage with patients looking for their issues and find an adequate solution. And Eisai has formed ‘Innovation’ team from 2016 to support intrapreneurs, who could actualize the solution proposed by Eisai Korea’s employees trying to create meaningful value for the community and the company, Senior Manager Sung Jong-seok, Deputy Director Kim Ah-reum and Senior Manager Ahn Woo-seok Started as a part of the corporate culture, HeLpy started with Senior Manager Ahn Woo-seok and Senior Manager Sung Jong-seok from the Sales developing a health management app after completing the second Innovation Academy. And recently the team added a new member, Deputy Director Kim Ah-reum, who has experience in app management. From then on, the HeLpy team became a small but fully fledged intraprenuer. Senior Manager Ahn Woo-seok said, “As I work at a pharmaceutical company, my father asked me often about his medication. Soon I realized drug information is searchable on portal websites but it was inconvenient to save them. I liked the idea that maybe I could improve it, so I applied for the Innovation Academy.” A Smartphone app, HeLpy, helps individuals to easily manage their medications by taking a photo of their dispensed drug packaging and prescription. Besides the basic medication management, the app also provides various functions for infants and toddler care, such as vaccine notification and baby growth percentile chart. And the users can also check their bio-age and health risk based on their medical check-up records accessible with one-off personal authentification. Launching an app with only a few developers was probably not the simplest task. Before the company decided to officially select the team’s project, HeLpy team members had to use their spare time to work on it. Senior Manager Sung Jong-seok smiled and reminisced, “Everyone trying to schedule spare time to work on the project was quite challenging as we each had our own business to tend. Regardless of whose fault it was, we had to walk on eggshells at the work. Although we had some hiccups, Ahn held us together tight to push on with the project.” Senior Manager Ahn explained, “Rather than ‘content with conviction,’ I’m perceived more as ‘stubborn.’ Continuing with the story, intrapreneurship has its perks. Although scheduling is difficult, intrapreneurship has irresistible advantage of requesting for company’s support and having comparatively less risk in failure than generic ventures struggling to find investors.” Deputy Director Kim Ah-reum joining the team late in the game actually expedited HeLpy’s launch. Certified as nutritionist and experienced in health management in previous company and National Cancer Center, Kim was the missing link for the team to finally meet the unmet needs. Deputy Director Kim said, “During my first year at the company, I was still concerned of adapting into the company well. But with two senior managers’ help, I was able to settle down soon. I focused on areas I could assist, like medical check-up data follow-up. I’m exhilarated that I can be a part of HeLpy’s launch.” HeLpy is just taking a baby step, now. The team is already in process of inking a partnership deal with a large insurance company, and also it is setting up marketing strategy with a marketing agency. The app’s download count has surpassed 125,000 recently, and 48,000 members have subscribed. HeLpy team commented, “We are still learning and figuring things out. We are shooting for 190,000 download count and 70,000 memberships in March by focusing on marketing. We want to become the success case of Eisai’s Innovation Project. We are happy doing what we like with the company’s support.”
- Policy
- Remdesivir to promote domestic clinical trials for COVID-19
- by Lee, Tak-Sun Feb 27, 2020 06:33am
- Gilead developed the Ebola treatment 'Remdesivir' in preparation for a clinical trial in Korea. The MFDS plans to review the Phase III clinical trial plan from Gilead promptly. Eui-Kyung Lee, the Minister of the MFDS explained on the 25th at the regular briefing on the COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Headquarters, "COVID-19 drugs are being developed in Korea, and Phase I clinical trials have been completed and are currently being developed". According to the MFDS, this drug is called Remdesivir, an Ebola treatment developed by the global pharmaceutical company Gilead. Remdesivir is a drug that has become famous after embarking on a clinical trial in China for patients with COVID-19. The drug is already being used as the first patient in the United States to confirm the symptom improvement effect, and is attracting attention as a treatment for COVID-19. In China, clinical trials are underway in 308 mild to moderate patients. There are no detailed plans such as specific subjects and medical institutions in Korea. An official from the Food and Drug Administration said, "We are discussing the domestic clinical trials with Remdesivir by Gilead". Meanwhile, 'Avigan' (Favipiravir), which is being used as a treatment for COVID-19 in Japan, is considering importing domestic income through an emergency introduction system. The emergency introduction system is a special provision on preventive and therapeutic medicines in the case of national emergency situations under Article 85-2 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, and it contains information that can be imported in the event of a pandemic. Avigan is an antiviral drug developed by Fujifilm Toyama Chemical, Japan, and is used for flu patients who are ineffective against existing antiviral agents in Korea, no product license has been obtained yet, and there are no ongoing clinical trials. The MFDS is considering urgent introduction at the request of the Center for Disease Control. In addition, the MFDS is introducing emergency syrups for Kaletra (Lopinavir/Ritonavir, Abbi), an AIDS treatment that is currently used in patients with COVID-19 in Korea. Kaletra syrup has already been purchased through the Korean Orphan & essential Drug Center.
- Company
- Obesity market surpassed ￦100 billion in 10 years
- by An, Kyung-Jin Feb 27, 2020 06:33am
- SaxendaLast year, 'Saxenda', which had gained popularity through going viral with 'Gangnam injection' and 'antiobestic injection', evaluated the domestic obesity treatment market. After 3rd quarterly sales, it gained the top spot, and its market share soared to almost one-third of the entire market. In the wake of the Saxenda, the total market size also recovered to ￦100 billion in 10 years after the withdrawal of Sibutramine. According to the drug research agency IQVIA on the 25th, the market size for obesity drugs last year reached ￦13.4 billion, up 38.6% year-on-year. The appetite suppressant drug, Sibutramine, has exceeded its annual sales of ￦100 billion in 10 years since 2009, immediately before it is evicted due to cardiovascular safety. Saxenda, released in March 2018, stabilized the market, acting as a catalyst for the growth of the domestic obesity treatment market. Saxenda's sales last year rose 465.9% to ￦42.6 billion. The company recorded sales five times higher than the second-largest Dietamin. Yearly market for obesity treatments (Unit: ￦100 million, Source: IQVIA) Saxenda (Liraglutide 3.0mg) is the world's first anti-obesity drug licensed as a GLP-1 (Glucagon-Like Peptide 1) analog. GLP-1 hormone secreted by the body as a food intake is delivered to the hypothalamus of the brain to reduce hunger and increase satiety to regulate appetite. Saxenda acts the same mechanism as GLP-1 in the body, suppressing appetite and weight loss. It is the same ingredient as 'Victoza' (Liraglutide 1.8mg) prescribed for type II diabetics, but its usage and dosage are different. Saxenda announced its presence with sales of ￦1.7 billion in the third quarter of 2018, and topped the list with sales of ￦5.6 billion in the fourth quarter. At the time, the domestic obesity drug market share exceeded 20% Saxenda has maintained sales of around ￦10 billion every quarter since its quarterly sales exceeded ￦10 billion in the first quarter of 2019. In the third quarter of last year, the market share soared to 33.7%. Saxenda's share in the fourth quarter of last year was 32.7%, down slightly from the previous quarter, but it was still overwhelming. Except for Saxenda, there are no anti-obesity drugs with annual sales of over ￦10 billion. Daewoong Pharm's 'Dietamin', which was second in sales after Saxenda, posted sales of ￦9.5 billion, up 6.2% from last year. Ildong Pharmaceutical's 'Belviq' sales, which had recently been forced to exit the market due to increased cancer risk, fell 13.8% from the previous year to ￦8.5 billion. Huon's Hutermin(￦6.2 billion) and Albogen Korea's Furing (￦5.3 billion) ranked among the top five in the domestic sales of obesity drugs, but their market share was less than 5%. Last year, Guangdong Pharmaceutical 'Contrave', which once attracted interest in the anti-obesity market, sold only ￦3.7 billion. It decreased 11.9% year-on-year. Annual sales and rate of increase and decrease of major domestic obesity drugs (Unit: ￦100 million,%, Source: IQVIA) In the industry, despite the handicap of Saxenda injections, Victoza, an anti-diabetic drug with the same ingredient, has shown long-term safety early in the market. Victoza demonstrated a 13% lower risk of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction and stroke in a LEADER study involving more than 9,000 people with type II diabetes. This is reflected in the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Drug Administration (EMA) product labels. With the exit of Belviq, it is expected that the power of Saxenda will be further enhanced. However, some people are concerned about the Saxenda’s craze. Drugs that should be administered to obese patients can be injected into young women in their 20s and 30s who want to become thinner, or they can be misused as they are traded on social media services (SNS) without knowing the mechanism, exact dose, and side effects. Quarterly sales trend of major domestic obesity treatments (Unit: ￦100 million, Source: IQVIA) Prof. Sung Rae Kim (College of Endocrinology, Bucheon St. Mary's Hospital) expressed concern about the Saxenda’s craze in an editorial published in the Korean Journal of Diabetes (J Korean Diabetes 2019; 20: 63-66). Professor Kim said, "In our country, the treatment of obesity is too much for cosmetic purposes regardless of obesity. Some behaviors that require prescription or illegal advertisements without any confirmation or explanation are very worrying, and Saxenda, a GLP-1 derivative, is an injection that has proven long-term efficacy and safety in the treatment of obesity, but it must be administered with the proper diet, exercise and behavioral therapy in the right treatment".
- Company
- COVID-19 closes LS Tower, GSK-Janssen to work from home
- by Jung, Hye-Jin Feb 27, 2020 06:33am
- As an office worker working at LS Yongsan Tower, located in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, was confirmed have been infected with COVID-19, pharmaceutical company offices housed at the tower told their employees to work from home. The authorities of Yongsan-gu announced on Feb. 25 the LS Yongsan Tower would be closed as an office worker working on the 16th floor of the building has been tested positive for COVID-19 infection on Feb. 24. Accordingly, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Korea, Johnson and Johnson (J&J) Korea, and Janssen Korea, with their offices located in the LS tower, have ordered all employees to work from home as of Feb. 25. Employees of the pharmaceutical companies have received an emergency text in the evening of Feb. 24 informing the confirmed case at LS Tower and urgent closure of the building from Feb. 25. Particularly, Janssen Korea operated Crisis Management Team (CMT) to respond to COVID-19 and announced the details to all employees of Janssen Korea and J&J Korea. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, multinational pharmaceutical companies have been highly recommending employees to work from home. As majority of GSK and J&J employees have been working from home already, the building closure would not critically affect the businesses. A GSK insider commented, “Because the company has recommended option of working from home and flexible working since the COVID-19 outbreak, many of the employees have been working from home for a while now. So, majority of them received the news of the building’s confirmed case and the closure via the text message.” But regardless of the companies’ flexible working scene, desk employees or divisions working around the office would inevitably miss work due to the closure. A location, where an infected individual has stayed, has to be closed down immediately and disinfected for a couple of days to a couple of weeks at most. Janssen Korea official said, “Other than all employees working from home, no other decision has been made. We have been informed of building closure on Feb. 25 only, so we are internally discussing about further responsive instruction.”
- Company
- Next gen Keytruda and Tagrisso skyrocket up the market rank
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Feb 27, 2020 06:32am
- A next generation anticancer therapy developed by a multinational pharmaceutical company has shuffled through the best-selling pharmaceuticals rank in Korea. Four years since the launch, Keytruda has generated over 100 billion won a year. Tagrisso and Opdivo also showed a steep surge in growth. Pharmaceutical market research firm IQVIA on Feb. 24 said Pfizer’s dyslipidemia treatment Lipitor has topped the Korean pharmaceutical market and made total of 148.9 trillion last year. According to IQVIA data, last year’s sales volume of the medication was increased by 8.5 percent than the previous year, letting Lipitor defend its top ranking for the fourth straight years. Launched 21 years ago in Korea, Lipitor reaffirmed its market leadership regardless of over 100 generics in the same market. 10 best-selling pharmaceuticals in 2019 (unit: KRW 100 million) Source: IQVIA In 2019, next generation anticancer therapies have consolidated their market position. MSD’s Keytruda placed itself on the second place in the market last year with 124.8 billion won, soaring 77.5 percent from the year before. Keytruda is a type of immune checkpoint inhibitor that boosts activity of immune cells by blocking the binding of PD-1 receptor on T-cell. Released in 2015, Keytruda has made over 10 billion won in 2016 and 2017. From August 2017, Keytruda received reimbursement on an indication to treat patients with non small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as a second-line treatment, which pushed its sales up to 70.3 billion won in 2018 and surpassed the 100 billion won-line in just four years. In last quarter, Keytruda generated 34.6 billion won and narrowed the gap with Lipitor by 5.1 billion won. Keytruda sales trend by quarter (Unit: KRW 100 million) Source: IQVIA AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso also showed a steep climb in growth. Making 79.2 billion won last year, Tagrisso’s volume grew by 33.2 percent from 2018 with 59.4 billion won. Every year its volume skyrocketed, reaching 2.3 billion won and 10.3 billion won in 2016 and 2017, respectively Tagrisso is a second-line treatment for patients with NSCLC, who have developed tolerance after being treated with existing epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), such as Iressa, Tarceva, and Giotrif. Tagrisso is also labeled as a third generation EGFR TKI as it overcame the tolerance issue. Winning the National Health Insurance reimbursement in December 2017, the medication’s sales volume grew by sevenfold within two years since the listing. The last quarter’s sales volume reached 19.9 billion won. Tagrisso sales trend by quarter (Unit: KRW 100 million) Source: IQVIA Ono Pharmaceutical and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo generated 67.0 billion won last year. Hiking up the volume by 16.5 percent, the medication emerged as a dark horse in the anticancer therapy market. Within the general top selling rank, biopharmaceuticals have performed significantly well last year. Roche’s anticancer therapy Avastin leapt 14.1 percent from the previous year and made 119.3 billion won, ranking itself on the third place. Approved by Korean health authority in 2007, Avastin is a targeted therapy that blocks growth and metastasis of tumor by inhibiting angiogenesis of cancer cell, carrying oxygen and nutrition. The treatment is used for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, metastatic breast cancer and NSCLC. After breaking through the 100 billion won-line for the first time in 2018, its sales have been over 100 billion won for two consecutive years. AbbVie’s autoimmune disease treatment Humira has made 96.2 billion won last year, 12.6 percent more than the previous year. Humira is a tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) inhibitor preventing expression of TNF alpha. Among all available TNF alpha inhibitors, Humira has the most number of indications of 14, which constantly attracts new users. Gilead’s hepatitis B treatment Viread’s sales volume took a 28.8-percent fall from 116.7 billion won in 2018 to 83.1 billion won last year. The fierce post-off-patent competition with generic seems to have pushed the treatment down the rank.
- Policy
- Betmiga lowers pricing with PVA, Tazime keeps original price
- by Kim, Jung-Ju Feb 27, 2020 06:32am
- Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s bacterial blood infection and meningitis treatment Tazime 2 g injection has been exempted from automatic pricing reduction as its competing item is removed from the tentative reimbursement listing. The price of Astellas Pharma Korea’s blockbuster drug Betmiga PR tablet would be lowered from Mar 1 due to price-volume agreement (PVA) system. Successfully signing risk sharing agreement (RSA), the price of Bayer Korea’s metastatic colorectal cancer and gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) treatment Stivarga 40 mg tablet (regorafenib) would be reduced by 7 percent to 34,045 won, starting from June 1. Janssen Korea’s Invega ER tablet, AbbVie Korea’s Jurnista 4 mg SR tablet and LG Chem’s AspoV Nail Lacquer are to be removed from the reimbursement listing from Mar 1, as the respective companies have voluntarily dropped the item approval. But the reimbursement would be provided until August 31 for the treatment access of patients. Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) finalized the said changes on the List of Reimbursed Drugs and Maximum Reimbursed Price. First, Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s Tazime 2 g injection would maintain the reimbursed price as another listed option was removed from the listing. Korea Prime Pharm’s Tofdin 2 g injection was supposed to be competing against and affecting price of Tazime 2 g injection. The competing injection had applied for tentative reimbursement as it was scheduled to launch on Mar. 21. It would have automatically lowered the price of Tazime 2 g injection to 16,400 won per vial from Mar. 21. But upon request by Korea Prime Pharm, Tofdin 2 g injection was dropped from the tentative listing and left Tazime 2 g injection with its original listing price. Accordingly, MOHW has decided to keep the existing reimbursed price of 18,082 won per vial for Tazime 2 g injection. Also, Hanwha Pharma’s Muteran syrup, two doses of Seoul Pharma’s Sebron syrup, and two doses of Kolon Pharmaceutical’s Turant syrup would maintain the initial reimbursed pricing as first generic in the class, because no other company has registered a generic in the class for over a year. It would come in effect from Mar. 1. Indicated to treat metastatic colorectal cancer, GIST and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), Bayer Korea’s Stivarga 40 mg tablet is lowering its price with renewed RSA from June 1. Stivarga 40 mg tablet engaged in renegotiation with National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) and successfully renewed the RSA by lowering the price by 7 percent to 34,045 won. Negotiated with NHIS over PVA, Astellas Pharma Korea would lower the price of 50 mg and 25 mg PR tablets of Betmiga to 712 won and 475 won, respectively, from Mar. 1. Due to expanded indication, Takeda Pharmaceuticals Korea is proactively lowering the price of Adcetris injection by 3.6 percent from 3,262,400 won to 3,144,953 won, starting from the beginning of next month. 34 items would be automatically unlisted from reimbursement listing as the pharmaceutical company voluntarily withdrew their item licenses. The following items are included among the 34 items; Janssen Korea’s Topamax sprinkle capsule and Invega ER tablet; Abbvie Korea’s Lucrin 3.75 mg depot injection and Jurnista 4 mg SR tablet; LG Chem’s AspoV Nail Lacquer; CTCBIO’s Newtiro tablet, Lastrin tablet, Zetis tablet and Protera 2 mg tablet; Union Korea Pharm’s Union Ofloxacin eye drop; Chem Tech Research Inc.’s Highpure eye drops 0.1%; Binex’ Epinis tablet; Sam Il’s Valsarodin tablet; Cosmax Bio’s Cosvix tablet, Nizamax 150 mg capsule and Cosbamin tablet, Maxtop tablet, Cosrid tablet, Cosverin tablet, Cosulon capsule, Cos 2 mg DR tablet, and Clycin dry syrup; NBK Pharm’s Pendes tablet; and Korea Global Pharm’s Thioctad 200 mg tablet. The drugs above would be removed from the List of Reimbursed Drugs from Mar. 1, but the government would continue to provide the reimbursement for the medications until Aug. 31 for the sake of patient’s treatment accessibility and predictability.
