April 23, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] FRANKFURT -- Korean biosimilar developers are fast-expanding their presence in global markets on strong growth opportunities for generic medicines, according to experts gathered at the CPhI Worldwide 2017 in Frankfurt, Germany.

“We see 43 percent of biosimilar sales coming from products made by Korean companies including Celltrion and Samsung Bioepis,” noted Alan Sheppard, principal of Global Generics at IMS Health. ” 

Samsung Bioepis

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The two companies have entered into multibillion dollar reference biologics deals in the US and Europe by launching their near-replica versions of the world’s top-selling drugs like Johnson & Johnson’s Remicade and Roch’s Rituxan.

“Developed markets such as the US, EU and Japan, offer strong growth opportunities for biosimilar manufacturers. As governments in developed markets strive to rationalize health care spending, they are encouraging the entry of high quality yet affordable biosimilars through dedicated regulatory pathways and stringent, abbreviated approval processes,” said Ravi Limaye, president of marketing at Biocon.

According to Limaye, biologics like insulins and monoclonal antibodies have emerged as a class of highly effective transformational lifesaving drugs targeted at chronic diseases like diabetes and cancer. The high cost of biologic therapies, however, pushes them out of the reach of many patients.

“The recent introduction of biosimilars for monoclonal antibody products has ignited a flurry of interest and changes to the positioning of these products, to the benefit of payers and patients,” Sheppard said.

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