S. Korean biosimilar Herzuma on sale in Britain

By Lim Chang-won Posted : May 3, 2018, 17:21 Updated : May 3, 2018, 17:21

[Courtesy of Celltrion]


SEOUL -- Herzuma, an anti-cancer biosimilar produced by South Korea's biopharmaceutical group Celltrion, has been put on sale in Britain following approval from Europe's regulatory body.

Celltrion Healthcare, the distribution wing of Celltrion, said Thursday that Herzuma, used to treat breast cancer, was officially launched in Britain. Herzuma based on Herceptin developed by Genentech, a subsidiary of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche was approved by the European Medicines Agency in February.

The company said Herzuma would be launched in Germany and other European countries by June.

In 2017, Celltrion's net profit rose to 403 billion won (375 million US dollars) from 221 billion won a year ago, helped by brisk sales of Remsima, a copy of Janssen Biotech's Remicade treating rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease.

Sales of Remsima topped $55 million in the United States during the first quarter of this year.  In April, Australian authorities approved Truxima, a biosimilar used to treat patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and rheumatoid arthritis. Truxima is also popular in Europe.
 
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