Celltrion Enters Rapidly Growing Vietnamese Market... Launches Four Products This Year

Remsima and Herzuma Successfully Launched in Vietnam
Product Supply Begins to the Country's Largest Military Hospital and Other Institutions

Celltrion is making a full-scale entry into Vietnam, which is considered an emerging pharmaceutical market. The company’s strategy is to expand its product portfolio, focusing on autoimmune disease treatments and anticancer drugs, to secure an early lead in the market.

According to the biopharmaceutical industry on August 28, Celltrion has been preparing for a full-scale market entry since establishing its Vietnamese subsidiary last year. The company obtained sales approval for its flagship autoimmune disease treatment Remsima (ingredient: infliximab) and the breast and gastric cancer treatment Herzuma (ingredient: trastuzumab), completing their respective launches in June and August of this year.

Celltrion's autoimmune disease treatment Remsima. Celltrion

Upon launch, Celltrion’s Vietnamese subsidiary signed a supply contract with the country’s largest military hospital for Remsima, successfully supplying the product for one year. Herzuma was also awarded a bid to supply medical institutions in the central and southern regions of Vietnam immediately after its launch and is scheduled to be supplied for two years. In the second half of the year, additional bids for trastuzumab-based products are scheduled at major hospitals in Vietnam, and the company plans to actively pursue sales activities to secure further contracts.

Vietnam’s pharmaceutical market is structured around hospital bidding and sales. Celltrion’s Vietnamese subsidiary has actively carried out tailored marketing activities that reflect the characteristics of the local pharmaceutical market, enabling rapid market penetration and accelerating sales. The company is building communication channels with key stakeholders, including hospitals and institutions across Vietnam, and aims to secure a competitive edge in the bidding market by highlighting product competitiveness, direct sales capabilities, and supply stability.

Additionally, Celltrion is proactively organizing opportunities to share Korea’s advanced medical environment and technologies with local medical professionals. The company also plans to closely cooperate with regulatory agencies, providing recommendations needed for drug approvals and bidding processes, and serve as a catalyst for pharmaceutical and biotech industry exchanges between Korea and Vietnam.

As of 2023, the Vietnamese pharmaceutical market is valued at approximately 10 trillion won and has grown at an average annual rate of more than 7% over the past decade, emerging as a key emerging market. Based on Celltrion’s five major biopharmaceutical ingredients alone, the public sector market amounts to about 170 billion won, and this segment continues to grow rapidly at an average annual rate of 10%.

In light of the growth potential of the Vietnamese pharmaceutical market, Celltrion plans to gradually expand its local workforce, strengthen sales activities, and continuously add new products to its portfolio to increase its market influence. In particular, in the second half of this year, the company aims to obtain sales approval and launch within the year for RemsimaSC-the world’s only subcutaneous formulation of infliximab-and the blood cancer treatment Truxima (ingredient: rituximab), further solidifying its position in the local market.

Furthermore, Celltrion is achieving remarkable results not only in Vietnam but also in other major ASEAN countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. According to pharmaceutical market research firm IQVIA, as of the first quarter of this year, Remsima leads the infliximab market in Malaysia with a market share of over 70%. In Singapore, RemsimaSC has achieved a 93% market share, proving that Celltrion’s next-generation flagship product is also successful in the ASEAN emerging markets.

Celltrion’s anticancer drugs are also performing strongly. Herzuma holds a dominant 93% market share in Thailand, with market shares of 52% in Malaysia and 37% in Singapore. Truxima also enjoys a competitive edge with a 70% market share in Singapore and 61% in Thailand. These achievements are attributed to Celltrion’s unique direct sales capabilities, which have been key in implementing tailored sales strategies based on a thorough analysis of each ASEAN country’s pharmaceutical market.

Jung Seungseop, Head of Central Asia at Celltrion, stated, "As the Vietnamese pharmaceutical market continues to grow rapidly each year, demand for biopharmaceuticals is also increasing. Celltrion will respond to these market changes by successfully launching key products and providing high-quality biopharmaceuticals that local patients can trust. Based on Celltrion’s differentiated direct sales capabilities proven worldwide, we will strive to expand our sales and also carry out various activities to strengthen pharmaceutical and biotech industry cooperation between Korea and Vietnam."

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