Celltrion Healthcare "Accelerating Expansion of Market Share for French Autoimmune Disease Treatment"

Celltrion Healthcare has successfully established a direct sales (direct-to-consumer) system in Europe and is rapidly expanding its product market share in France, one of the five major European countries.

Celltrion Healthcare CI. [Image provided by Celltrion Healthcare]

Celltrion Healthcare began its full-scale transition to direct sales in Europe by establishing its own distribution network and channels, starting with Remsima (generic name infliximab) in 2020. Last year, it expanded the direct sales area to all products, including oncology biosimilars.

According to IQVIA, a pharmaceutical market research firm, Remsima has maintained the number one prescription rank for five consecutive years since surpassing the original product’s market share in 2018. After switching to Celltrion Healthcare’s direct sales system, Remsima recorded a 47% market share in France. Notably, it succeeded in winning the UniHA (a consortium of university hospitals that accounts for 30% of the French infliximab market) tender, securing exclusive supply of Remsima for three years until 2024.

The success of Remsima continues with its follow-up product, RemsimaSC, a subcutaneous injection formulation. With the local subsidiary aggressively resuming marketing activities last year, RemsimaSC achieved a 21% market share within two years. As of the fourth quarter of last year, the combined market share of the Remsima product line in France reached 68%.

Market Share of Celltrion Healthcare Products in France.
[Image provided by Celltrion Healthcare]

Alongside this, Yuflyma (generic name adalimumab) has seen rapid prescription growth following active marketing efforts after the COVID-19 pandemic. Yuflyma, a high-concentration formulation that reduces the drug dosage by half compared to low concentration, improves treatment convenience and continues to expand its market share. Celltrion Healthcare explains that a key strength of Yuflyma is that it is the only adalimumab biosimilar product in Europe to offer 40mg and 80mg doses as well as both auto-injector (AI) and prefilled syringe formulations, providing differentiated product advantages.

Celltrion Healthcare also expressed expectations that achievements will become visible in the oncology biosimilar field with Truxima (generic name rituximab) and Herzuma (generic name trastuzumab). Since direct sales of oncology drugs began in Europe last year, Celltrion Healthcare plans to establish a flexible pricing policy and proactively participate in upcoming rituximab and trastuzumab tender competitions. Especially with the portfolio further strengthened by the launch of Vegzelma (generic name bevacizumab) last year, the company aims to leverage sales synergies among the same oncology antibody biosimilar family.

Kim Dong-sik, head of Celltrion Healthcare’s France subsidiary, said, “As a result of strengthening favorable networks with key stakeholders in France and enhancing locally tailored marketing activities, not only existing products but also follow-up products such as RemsimaSC and Yuflyma have achieved good results. We will do our best to expand these achievements with a more aggressive marketing strategy in the tender scheduled for the second half of this year, ensuring that Celltrion Healthcare’s medicines are supplied to more patients in France.”

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