Celltrion Pharm Launches Domestic Sales of Avastin Biosimilar 'Vegzelma'

Avastin Biosimilar 'Vegzelma'
Photo by Celltrion Pharm

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Celltrion Pharm announced on the 1st that the Avastin biosimilar 'Vegzelma' (generic name Bevacizumab) has officially begun domestic sales procedures with the announcement of its insurance drug price.

Vegzelma obtained marketing authorization from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in August and has already started sales in Europe. In September, it received marketing approvals from the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), respectively.

In Korea, after obtaining marketing authorization from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in September, health insurance coverage began from this day according to the drug reimbursement price ceiling announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The prices for the domestically launched 'Vegzelma 0.1g/4㎖' and 'Vegzelma 0.4g/16㎖' were set at 208,144 KRW and 677,471 KRW, respectively.

The original drug Avastin is an anticancer agent widely used for various cancers including ▲metastatic colorectal cancer ▲metastatic breast cancer ▲non-small cell lung cancer ▲advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma ▲glioblastoma ▲epithelial ovarian cancer, fallopian tube cancer, or primary peritoneal cancer ▲cervical cancer. It works by blocking the binding of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which induces angiogenesis, to its protein, thereby inhibiting tumor blood vessel formation and growth. Vegzelma is prescribed domestically with the same indications as the original drug through patent agreements.

Notably, Vegzelma's shelf life has been extended to 48 months from the manufacturing date?twice that of competing products (24 months)?through separate stability testing. Additionally, it received approval for refrigerated storage of the diluted solution (2~8℃) for 60 days, which is double the duration of existing products, making drug management easier.

A Celltrion Pharm official stated, "By introducing the third antibody anticancer biosimilar 'Vegzelma' domestically, we have built a stronger product portfolio in the anticancer drug market. We will do our best to ensure that Vegzelma quickly establishes itself in the market based on its product competitiveness and the strengthened anticancer drug portfolio."

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