Boryeong Officially Launches New Small Cell Lung Cancer Drug 'Zepzelca' in Korea

Boryung announced on the 28th that it has officially launched the new drug for small cell lung cancer, 'Zepzelca (generic name: lurbinectedin)', in South Korea. Zepzelca is an anticancer drug developed by the Spanish pharmaceutical company PharmaMar and is used for 'metastatic small cell lung cancer that has failed first-line platinum-based chemotherapy.'

Zepzelca is a new mechanism drug that simultaneously exhibits 'cancer cell death through DNA transcription inhibition' and 'suppression of cancer cell proliferation, immune checkpoint activity, and angiogenesis by inhibiting transcriptional activity within tumor-associated macrophages (TAM).' Zepzelca received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in September last year and is expected to be distributed to medical institutions through this official launch.

In the United States, where Zepzelca was launched in July 2020, it has established itself as a representative second-line treatment for small cell lung cancer, generating sales of $535 million (approximately 700 billion KRW) until last year. It is known that more than 40% of small cell lung cancer patients in the U.S. are prescribed Zepzelca as a second-line treatment. In South Korea, Boryung has held exclusive sales and distribution rights for Zepzelca since 2017.

Given the limited options for second-line or later small cell lung cancer treatments domestically, Boryung explains that Zepzelca can be a viable choice. According to the literature supporting Zepzelca’s approval published in The Lancet Oncology, it shows superior efficacy compared to existing domestic drugs, with an objective response rate of 35% in the overall patient population, an average duration of response of 5.3 months, ease of administration with dosing once every three weeks, and manageable side effects. In fact, Zepzelca is also recommended in treatment guidelines by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO).

Kim Young-seok, Head of the Onco Division at Boryung, said, "Until now, treatment options for small cell lung cancer patients who failed platinum-based chemotherapy have been limited," adding, "Zepzelca will be a new option that significantly improves treatment outcomes for small cell lung cancer."

New Small Cell Lung Cancer Drug 'Zepzelca'
[Image provided by Boryung]

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