A Treatment for Autoimmune Diseases
Samsung Bioepis announced on March 15 that it has sealed a partnership deal with Yuhan Corp. to sell Adalloce (substance name: adalimumab), a treatment for autoimmune diseases, in Korea.
Adalloce is a biosimilar to Humira, the world's No. 1 drug in terms of sales (23 trillion won), and is used to treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and Crohn's disease.
With the release of Adalloce, Samsung Bioepis sells biosimilars to the three TNF inhiitors -- Humira, Remicade and Enbrel. The Korean market for the three biosimilars amounts to 200 billion won.
Samsung Bioepis received approval for the sale of Adalloce from the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in September 2017. It has held patent negotiations with AbbVie, the manufacturer of the original drug Humira, for the release of Adalloce in Korea. Adalloce is expected to hit the shelves in Korea as early as the first half of 2021. It is expected to retail at a price 20 to 30 percent lower than that of Humira, which is in the 400,000 won range.
Adalloce was released under the product name "IMRALDI" in the European market in October 2018 and racked up US$417 million in cumulative sales by the end of 2020. In the United States, it obtained permission to sell under the name “HADLIMA” in May 2019. It will go on sales in July 2023 under a patent contract with AbbVie.