Celltrion's 'Remsima' Holds No.1 Market Share in Europe for 6 Consecutive Years... Accelerating Market Penetration

Celltrion's antibody biosimilar 'Remsima SC'
[Photo by Celltrion]

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The fleet of biopharmaceuticals led by 'Remsima' from Celltrion Healthcare is accelerating its market penetration, continuing to top prescriptions in the European market by surpassing original drugs.

Celltrion Healthcare announced on the 16th, citing pharmaceutical market research firm IQVIA, that Remsima recorded a 55% market share in Europe as of the third quarter of last year. In particular, it showed overwhelming dominance over competing products with shares of 91% in Austria, 82% in the United Kingdom, and 72% in Ireland.

Remsima, developed as a biosimilar (biopharmaceutical generic) of the autoimmune disease treatment 'Remicade' (generic name infliximab), is the first antibody biosimilar approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). After actively selling in Europe, it surpassed the market share of the original drug Remicade in 2017 and has maintained the number one prescription spot for infliximab in Europe for six consecutive years. Especially after switching to direct sales in 2020, it has sustained a market share exceeding 50%, proving Celltrion Healthcare's direct sales competitiveness.

Moreover, with the introduction of 'RemsimaSC,' which changed the basic intravenous (IV) formulation of Remsima to a subcutaneous (SC) injection, market penetration has accelerated further. Since its launch in 2020, RemsimaSC has rapidly expanded prescriptions, achieving market shares of 30% in Germany and 22% in Finland as of the third quarter of last year. Celltrion Healthcare explained that the emergence of RemsimaSC has created a virtuous cycle where prescriptions for both Remsima and RemsimaSC expand through formulation synergy by switching from other infliximab products to Remsima and then maintaining treatment with RemsimaSC.

It was also reported that personalized treatment has become possible by selecting between IV and SC products based on the patient's disease status and situation, increasing preference among medical staff and patients. Through RemsimaSC, the number of patient visits has decreased, enabling efficient use of medical resources, thus establishing itself as a treatment beneficial to both patients and healthcare providers.

Market Share Status of Celltrion Healthcare Products in Major European Countries as of Q3 2022 [Image provided by Celltrion Healthcare]

The biosimilar 'Herzuma' (generic name trastuzumab) of the breast and stomach cancer treatment 'Herceptin' is also showing continued success. Herzuma recorded a 23% market share in Europe as of the third quarter of last year, an increase of more than 10 percentage points from 13% in the previous quarter, ranking first among biosimilars in Europe. Amid fierce competition with a total of seven trastuzumab products, including the original Herceptin, Herzuma was the only biosimilar product to achieve a market share exceeding 20%.

Celltrion Healthcare explained that the expansion of Herzuma's market share was achieved based on successes across Europe, including winning bids in the Turkish government’s central procurement (DMO) and Hungary’s National Health Insurance Fund (NEAK) national tenders held in the first half of last year. Both countries are regions where direct sales are conducted through local subsidiaries, demonstrating competitiveness throughout the entire pharmaceutical sales process.

A Celltrion Healthcare official said, “Through product competitiveness, high trust from medical staff, distribution experience and know-how, country-specific tailored sales strategies, and the commercial capabilities of local subsidiaries, we expanded Remsima’s market share from just 1% at the early stage of its European launch to about 60%. With the portfolio strengthened by the launch of 'Vegzelma' (generic name bevacizumab) alongside the switch to direct sales of anticancer drugs in the second half of last year, we will actively participate in country-specific tenders scheduled for this year to ensure the continued expansion of prescriptions for Celltrion Group’s biopharmaceuticals.”

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