Securing 62% of Market in a Month
Samsung Bioepis' Imraldi, a biosimilar to Humira, gained 62 percent of the market in Germany as of Nov. 13, according to a tally released by medical market researcher IQVIA on Dec. 10. The figure was reached less than a month after the South Korean drug company launched Imraldi in Europe on Oct. 17.
Imraldi is a biosimilar to Humira, an autoimmune drug developed by U..S-based bio firm AbbVie Inc. with the highest global sales of 21 trillion won (US$18.62 billion) per year. Humira is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, spondylitis ankylopoietica and psoriasis.
As Humira came off patent, Imraldi was released in Europe at the same time with other Humira biosimilars developed by global leading biotech and pharmaceutical companies, such as Amjevita by Amgen Inc., Hyrimoz by Sandoz Inc. and Hulio by Mylan Inc. and Fujifilm Kyowa Kirin Biologics Co. All eyes are on the competition among the four products to secure a bigger share of the global the market.
Currently, Samsung Bioepis is participating in a product supply tender in major European markets, including the United Kingdom, France and Italy in addition to Germany.