April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin has met with heads of 19 global partners in Paris ahead of the launch of the South Korean biopharmaceutical firm’s biosimilar products in Europe, the firm said on Feb. 13.

During the meeting the chairman discussed sales strategies for Celltrion’s Remsima, cheaper copycat version of Johnson & Johnson’s Remicade as well as the successful launch of the rituximab biosimilar Truxima and Herzuma, a biosimilar referencing Roche’s blockbuster breast cancer drug Herceptin. 

Truxima and Herzuma, Celltrion’s second and third biosimilar to be commercialized in Europe, are expected to win approval from European Medicines Agency this year.

“2017 is an important year when Truxima and Herzuma will be unveiled while Remsima will expand its market share in the global markets,” Seo said during the gathering with top executives of global drug makers including Mundipharma, Kern Pharma and Biogaran.

The company said earlier its rheumatoid arthritis treatment drug Remsima has captured nearly 40 percent share of the overall Infliximab market in Europe. The sale of Remsima in the US reached 4.5 billion won (US$3.90 million) in just one month after being released in the US market.

“Thanks to the solid sales network of our global partners, we expect that Truxima and Herzuma will settle at a fast pace in the global markets,” an official at Celltrion said.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)