Celltrion's 'Remsima SC' Targets Latin America... Launch in Brazil

Celltrion Healthcare announced on the 22nd that it has launched the autoimmune disease treatment 'Remsima SC (generic name infliximab)' in Brazil, the largest pharmaceutical market in Latin America. The company plans to use this as a foothold to actively target the Latin American market.

Remsima SC Model
Photo by Lee Chunhee

After Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) approved the sale of Remsima SC in November last year, Celltrion Healthcare has been focusing on preparing for the launch by carrying out essential tasks such as drug price listing and maintaining communication with government agencies. In Brazil, Remsima SC will be directly sold alongside existing products such as 'Remsima' and 'Truxima (generic name rituximab)'. To ensure successful market entry, the company has continuously strengthened its direct sales capabilities by expanding its local commercial staff to about 30 employees.

Brazil is considered a key country, accounting for more than half of the Latin American pharmaceutical market and having significant influence on surrounding regions. Accordingly, Celltrion Healthcare plans to quickly establish a market presence by expanding meetings with major stakeholders such as the government, doctors, and patient associations from the early stages of the launch and by strengthening customized marketing activities.

As part of this effort, Celltrion Healthcare's Brazil branch held a launch event for Remsima SC on the 18th (local time) in S?o Paulo. The event invited over 100 key figures, including experts in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), to introduce real-world data (RWD) of Remsima SC and the expansion status of prescriptions in Europe. It was explained that Remsima SC, as the only subcutaneous (SC) formulation among infliximab products, improves patient treatment convenience and reduces patient visits, leading to efficient use of medical resources and benefiting healthcare providers. This explanation received great interest and positive response.

On the 18th (local time), the 'Remsima SC Launch Event' for experts and key figures in the field of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) was held in S?o Paulo, Brazil.
[Photo by Celltrion Healthcare]

Celltrion Healthcare is confident that Remsima SC can expand prescriptions in Brazil based on the success of existing products, as it is experiencing rapid growth in major global markets such as Europe. The intravenous (IV) formulation Remsima has maintained the top prescription share with 84% market share as of 2022, winning federal government bids in Brazil for two consecutive years, and Truxima has achieved a dominant market share of over 70% through aggressive bidding strategies. In particular, in Europe, after the launch of Remsima SC, patients who were prescribed competing infliximab drugs have switched to Remsima and continued maintenance therapy with Remsima SC, demonstrating the strength of the dual formulation. This has led to a simultaneous increase in market share for both products, and a similar synergy effect is expected in Brazil.

Kang Kyung-doo, Head of Celltrion Healthcare's Latin America region, said, "We are honored to be able to supply Remsima SC to Brazilian patients suffering from autoimmune diseases. Starting with Brazil, we plan to expand the launch of Remsima SC in countries where our local subsidiaries have been established, such as Mexico, Colombia, and Peru, in the second half of this year, and to lead a successful market entry to promote the expansion of Remsima SC prescriptions throughout the Latin American region."

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