Medipost to Tap into Global Market Next Year
MediPost's degenerative arthritis treatment “Cartistem,” which has been leading the domestic stem cell therapy market, has exceeded 10,000 treatments in cumulative sales in six years after the launch.
According to the industry on Nov. 1, Cartistem achieved the milestone last month. In 2012, the year of its launch, its monthly average sales were 28, but the figure rose to 282 this year, a tenfold increase, and is forecast to exceed 300 by next year.
Cartistem is the world's first allogeneic stem cell-based degenerative arthritis treatment developed by MediPost in 2012. Previously, degenerative arthritis patients did not have any other treatment options other than having an artificial joint surgery or getting pain relievers, but Cartistem treats knee cartilage defects through a single medical procedure. In 2014, Guus Hiddink, the former national soccer team coach, received the Cartistem treatment and became a hot issue.
Cartistem, which has received attention as an innovative treatment for degenerative arthritis, turned to full-fledged growth in 2016 by receiving attention from patients with chronic degenerative arthritis. In the beginning of last year, MediPost took over the sales instead of consigning it to Donga-st. As a result, last year, the sales volume of Cartistem reached 200 cases per month, exceeding yearly sales of 10 billion won for the first time in history as a domestic stem cell therapy.
MediPost plans to accelerate its entry into the global market next year. The global degenerative arthritis drug market is estimated to worth 45 trillion won with almost 400 million patients around the world. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8% until the year of 2024 with a steady increase in the number of patients due to the rapidly ageing population.