Celltrion Healthcare Soars with Direct Sales... Successive European Cancer Drug Orders

Celltrion Healthcare's oncology biosimilar (biopharmaceutical) portfolio is showing tangible results following last year's transition to direct sales, as it has successfully secured bids in major European countries.

On the 25th, Celltrion Healthcare announced that its hematologic cancer biosimilar 'Truxima' (generic name rituximab) won a hospital bid from AGEPS, one of the five major European countries, France. AGEPS is the agency responsible for pharmaceutical procurement for APHP, a consortium of university hospitals in Paris and the ?le-de-France region. Truxima is scheduled to be exclusively supplied to the hospital for three years starting next month, and the company expects that since AGEPS accounts for about 15% of the entire French market, the expansion of Truxima prescriptions will gain significant momentum.

'Herzuma' (generic name trastuzumab), used for treating breast and stomach cancers, is also continuing to secure orders in major European countries. In the third quarter of this year, Herzuma won the trastuzumab bid held by the Campagna regional government in Italy and began supply last month. In T?rkiye (Turkey), it also succeeded in winning the central government (DMO) bid, which accounts for about 20% of the total market, alongside Truxima. As of the first quarter, Celltrion Healthcare explained that Herzuma and Truxima are leading the market in T?rkiye with market shares of 70% and 65%, respectively, overwhelmingly surpassing original drugs and competing products.

The metastatic colorectal and breast cancer treatment 'Bevacelma' (generic name bevacizumab) also reported meaningful ongoing success despite being a latecomer, having won the Campagna regional government bid in Italy. Following successful bids in the Lombardia, Emilia Romagna, and Toscana regional governments in the first quarter, Celltrion Healthcare has expanded supply to Campagna, increasing Bevacelma's prescription coverage to 50% of the Italian bevacizumab market.

Celltrion's anticancer biosimilar 'Vegzelma (generic name Bevacizumab)'
[Photo by Celltrion]

Celltrion Healthcare cited its commercial capabilities and product supply stability as key drivers behind the success of its three oncology biosimilars across Europe. Since the second half of last year, the company has transitioned to direct sales of oncology drugs in Europe and is leading bidding competitions based on customized strategies reflecting the characteristics of each national market.

There is particular optimism that the ongoing merger between Celltrion and Celltrion Healthcare will further expand product sales. Currently, Celltrion Healthcare's cost of goods sold is based on the price of raw materials purchased from Celltrion. However, after the merger, the cost of goods sold is expected to significantly decrease to Celltrion's production cost, enabling the establishment of more differentiated pricing strategies. Celltrion Healthcare plans to leverage the improved cost structure post-merger to negotiate additional pricing, expand bidding participation and sales opportunities, and conduct more aggressive marketing to strengthen its market dominance in Europe.

Kim Dong-sik, head of Celltrion Healthcare's France branch, said, “The transition to direct sales of oncology drugs and the launch of Bevacelma in the second half of last year have strengthened our commercial competitiveness by expanding our oncology portfolio. As a result of establishing marketing strategies tailored to each country's characteristics with local experts who have sales experience and know-how, our bid-winning performance has steadily increased. We will continue thorough market analysis and strengthen local networks to achieve good results in upcoming bids across Europe by the end of this year, doing our best to ensure that more patients receive Celltrion Healthcare medicines proven for efficacy and safety.”

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