Despite Stock Market Decline, Celltrion Brothers Benefit from 'Remsima SC'

Celltrion's Remsima SC (Photo by Asia Economy DB)

[Asia Economy Reporter Geum Boryeong] On the morning of the 26th, while the domestic stock market was on a downward trend, Celltrion in the KOSPI market and Celltrion Healthcare in the KOSDAQ market attracted attention by showing strong performance.

According to the Korea Exchange, as of 10:20 a.m. that day, Celltrion's stock price rose 2.03% (3,500 KRW) from the previous close to 176,000 KRW. At the same time, Celltrion Healthcare also rose 2.88% (1,800 KRW) to 67,800 KRW compared to the previous day. This contrasts with the KOSPI and KOSDAQ, which fell 1.46% and 1.32%, respectively.

The strength of Celltrion and Celltrion Healthcare is thanks to 'Remsima SC.' Remsima SC is an antibody biopharmaceutical developed in-house. Celltrion announced that it received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for domestic sales of Remsima SC. Remsima SC is a product that changed the existing biosimilar Remsima from intravenous injection (IV) to subcutaneous injection (SC).

The indication approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety this time is rheumatoid arthritis. Celltrion plans to obtain additional indications for inflammatory bowel disease.

According to Jin Hongguk, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, "Remsima SC, which will be sequentially launched across Europe starting this month, had a production volume of 301.9 billion KRW last year by Celltrion," and added, "If there are no additional orders, inventory will be almost depleted, so we expect Remsima SC sales of 230 billion KRW this year as well."

In the case of Remsima SC, the competitive situation is also favorable as Takeda's inflammatory bowel disease treatment Entyvio SC formulation received a Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December last year, delaying its launch. Additionally, with the depletion of U.S. Inflectra inventory and a portfolio strategy of administering Remsima SC after Remsima IV, an increase in the supply volume of Remsima IV is also expected.

Celltrion Healthcare, which is Celltrion's distribution and marketing channel as well as a co-developer, is also expected to improve profitability. Researcher Jin analyzed, "With the launch of Remsima SC in Europe, Celltrion Healthcare has secured a long-term growth engine," and added, "The success of Remsima SC in the European market also suggests potential in the U.S. market, so it should be watched with interest."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.