Received a bid from the largest pharmaceutical purchasing association in the Netherlands
“Launched in Northern Europe, including Finland and Ireland, within this month”
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Celltrion’s autoimmune disease treatment celltrion announced on the 4th that it launched ‘Stekima’ (ingredient name: ustekinumab), a biosimilar for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, in major European countries such as Germany and the Netherlands on the 1st (local time). revealed.
For this launch, Celltrion’s German subsidiary explained that it quickly launched the product through a market-tailored strategy, including completing the drug price registration and prescription system registration procedures in advance. In addition, prior to launch, the company participated in the ‘German Gastroenterological Society’, the largest gastroenterological society in Germany, and focused on promoting Stekima’s product competitiveness to local medical staff.
The Dutch corporation won the bid for IZAAZ, a major local pharmaceutical purchasing association. IZAAZ is the largest university hospital group in the Netherlands and is considered a major supply channel with influence across the medical field. The bid is equivalent to about 27% of the Dutch ustekinumab market, and Stekima is scheduled to be supplied for about two years starting this month.
Stechima is a biosimilar product of the autoimmune disease treatment drug ‘Stelara’. It inhibits the activity of interleukin (IL)-12 and 23, substances related to inflammation, to treat plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis. It is prescribed. Stechema, developed by Celltrion, was released in both intravenous (IV) and subcutaneous (SC) formulations, identical to the original drug. A total of three types have been released, with doses of 45mg and 90mg for the SC formulation and 130mg for the IV formulation, and the plan is to expand sales by utilizing the fact that the target patient groups such as Crohn’s disease (CD) and psoriasis (PS) are different for each dose in marketing.
Celltrion plans to quickly expand its market share in Europe by launching Stekima in Finland and Ireland, major Nordic countries, this month. In particular, the Irish subsidiary plans to attend the ‘Irish Gastroenterological Society Winter Meeting’ held in Dublin on the 21st (local time) and engage in product promotion activities.
Ha Tae-hoon, head of Celltrion’s European division, said, “Celltrion has an integrated structure that encompasses the entire industrial process from drug production to sales, so it has a more stable drug supply process than other bio companies in Europe.” He added, “20 European corporations are selling Remsima. “As we are building a strong partnership with medical officials, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) specialists, mainly in SC, we will further expand Celltrion’s influence in Europe through the launch of Stechema,” he said.
Meanwhile, according to IQVIA, a pharmaceutical market research agency, last year’s global ustekinumab market size was estimated at approximately $20.4 billion (approximately 26.52 trillion won). Celltrion plans to rapidly expand Stechema’s European launch countries by next year.
Reporter Seo Lee [email protected]
