|
|
 |
 Home > Press Center > News Archives |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
28, Dec. 2008 |
| LG & Hanmi spent most on R&D among Korean drugmakers |
 |
| According to Daily Pharm, LG Life Sciences and Hanmi spent most on research and development (R&D), based on their balance sheets for the year ended in December. R&D spending of LG was 59.2 billion won, 23% of its total sales while Hanmi spent 54.8 billion won, 11% of the total sales. Most of drugmakers listed on Korea Stock Exchange spent less than 5% of their sales on R&D. |
 |
|
|
|
12, Dec. 2008 |
| Hanmi Enters Artificial Bone Market with FDA-approved PolyBone |
|
Hanmi to enter a 100 billion Won market with PolyBone
Hanmi Pharmaceutical is to enter domestic artificial bone market valued at KRW 100 billion with FDA-approved artificial bone product named PolyBone. Hanmi is launching PolyBone as well as bone cement product, OptiBone, domestically in collaboration with KyungWon Medical.
PolyBone contains fast-absorbed ß-TCP and bone growth-promoting polyphosphate and comes in powder, granule or stick configurations. It is the only commercially available artificial bone product which contains polyphosphate to replace a damaged bone in addition to promoting its growth.
The US and European markets are rapidly transitioning from allografts and xenografts to synthetic bone products since infection related problems surfaced. Korean artificial bone market is also showing follow similar trend in favor of artificial bone products.
Jin-Guk Sung, marketing director for PolyBone stated, the product's effectiveness as well as its safety will be proved once again in additional clinical studies.
Sung claimed, the fact that FDA approval was granted, along with supporting data from clinical trials, will be emphasized in marketing efforts to engross 10 billion Won in 2009, the first year of launch.
PolyBone is the first Korean product to receive FDA approval (2007) and European CE (2005). The product also is approved in China as well as in Australia. |
|
|
|
|
|
01, Dec. 2008 |
| Price Listing Duration Shortened: 30 days for IMDs and 60 for Generics |
|
Hanmi to enter a 100 billion Won market with PolyBone
Hanmi Pharmaceutical is to enter domestic artificial bone market valued at KRW 100 billion with FDA-approved artificial bone product named PolyBone. Hanmi is launching PolyBone as well as bone cement product, OptiBone, domestically in collaboration with KyungWon Medical.
PolyBone contains fast-absorbed ß-TCP and bone growth-promoting polyphosphate and comes in powder, granule or stick configurations. It is the only commercially available artificial bone product which contains polyphosphate to replace a damaged bone in addition to promoting its growth.
The US and European markets are rapidly transitioning from allografts and xenografts to synthetic bone products since infection related problems surfaced. Korean artificial bone market is also showing follow similar trend in favor of artificial bone products.
Jin-Guk Sung, marketing director for PolyBone stated, the product's effectiveness as well as its safety will be proved once again in additional clinical studies.
Sung claimed, the fact that FDA approval was granted, along with supporting data from clinical trials, will be emphasized in marketing efforts to engross 10 billion Won in 2009, the first year of launch.
PolyBone is the first Korean product to receive FDA approval (2007) and European CE (2005). The product also is approved in China as well as in Australia. |
|
|
|
|
|
27, Nov. 2008 |
| Drugmakers want new pricing policy ealier than scheduled |
|
The Korean Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (KPMA) said that it requested the government to implement the new pricing policy for improved versions of brand-name drugs earlier than scheduled.
KPMA insisted that a twenty day notice period should be allowed instead of a 60 day period because the new pricing policy is a simple change.
The KPMA said in its letter to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family (MOHWF) that the new pricing rule should be set up as soon as possible because it benefits patients, companies and the government.
It also pointed that some drugmakers are delaying listing their drugs on the national drug formulary until the new rule goes effective.
The MOHWF currently plans to have a hearing for the pricing rule change until November 4.
By Eui Kyoung Yoon(ekyeun@dreamdrug.com) Published : October 07, 2008 |
|
|
|
|
|
26, Nov. 2008 |
| Interim Report on Business Performance is issued |
|
|
Interim Report on Business Performance in 3Q 2008 is issued |
|
|
|
|
|
09, Nov. 2008 |
| Hanmi to roll out Amodipine-S next year |
|
Hanmi said on Wednesday that it will roll out Amodipine-S in the early 2009.
Amodipine-S is an enantiomer of amolodipine which is a chiral compound. The therapeutic effect of the enantionmer is two times higher than the mixture of the two enantiomers.
Ankook, Hanlim and Shipoong have already marketed the more effective enantiomer of amlodipine, but the sales of their drugs have been very slow.
The drugmakers, which plan to market the enantiomer, are supposed to list their drugs after the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family set the new pricing rules for improved versions of brand-name drugs.
SK Chemicals listed its enantiomer compound of amlodipine in April and Chong Kun Dang is also preparing for marketing its drug in the near future.
By Eui Kyoung Yoon(ekyeun@dreamdrug.com) |
|
|
|
|
|
08, Nov. 2008 |
| Drugmakers like extended-release versions |
|
| Extended-release versions are getting popular. Pharmaceutical companies have developed new drugs by changing salts or separating isomers, but they focus on changing dosage forms now.
Hanmi`s Maxibufen ER and LG Life Sciences`s Eutropin Plus are about to be put on the market after the price negotiation with the government is finalized.
Other extended-release versions such as Hanall`s Glucodown OR, Dreampharma`s Panbesy Slow-Release Capsule, and Sanofi-Aventis`s Stilnox CR have been already rolled out.
Several brand-name drugmakers market extended-release versions to defend their market shares against the threat of generic drugs
An official of a drugmaker said that extended-release versions are considered first because they can easily take advantage of already-marketed immediate-release versions.
By Eui Kyoung Yoon(ekyeun@dreamdrug.com)
Published : September 28, 2008 |
|
|
|
|
|
07, Nov. 2008 |
| Hanmi to roll out its generic Prograf next month |
|
Hanmi is supposed to list its generic version of Prograf in November, a source in the pharmaceutical industry said.
Chong Kun Dang has marketed Tacrobell, its generic version of Prograf since 2005, but Tacrobell sales reached only 6.9 billion won in 2007 as transplantation specialists are reluctant to change the prescriptions from the brand-name Prograf to the generic Tacrobell.
An official of Astellas Korea said that Prograf will monopolize the market for a while because it is difficult to manufacture the generic versions and doctors still want the brand-name drug Prograf.
Recently the Korea Food and Drug Administration approved an addition of a new indication of Prograf.
Now Prograf can be covered by the national health insurance when it is used for chromic rheumatoid arthritis whose symptoms are not controlled by disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs.
The generic versions are not qualified for the new indication of Prograf. Prograf sales were 33.2 billion won last year.
By Eui Kyoung Yoon(ekyeun@dreamdrug.com)
Published : October 06, 2008 |
|
|
|
|
|
05, Nov. 2008 |
| Hanmi`s generic Lipitor at 2 won for Bohun |
|
Bohun Hospital decided to put Hanmi`s generic version of Lipitor on the drug formulary for its patients.
Hanmi`s Tovast (atorvastatin) competed with other generic versions from Dong-A, Yuhan, Chong Kun Dang, Dong Wha, and SK Chemicals in the open bid last month. Hanmi finally won the bidding with a nominal price, only 2 won.
Industry experts said that Hanmi racked up 400-500 million won in sales despite of the extremely low price because Tovast will be prescribed for outpatients as well as inpatients in Bohun.
A drug wholesaler said that Hanmi seemed to want to secure new patients and occupy the generic Lipitor market first by supplying Tovast at a nominal price.
By Eui Kyoung Yoon(ekyeun@dreamdrug.com)
Published : August 13, 2008 |
|
|
|
|
|
01, Nov. 2008 |
| Improved generic version will get price advantages |
|
|
The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family (MOHWF) said that it will set the price of an improved generic version of a brand-name drug at 90% of the brand-name drug price if the new version is approved for a new indication and a new dosage.
If the improved generic version comes only in a different dosage from the brand-name one, the price of the improved version will be 80% of the brand-name one.
The MOHWF also said that if the brand-name drug price goes down by 20%, the improved version price will be decreased by the same percentage as the brand-name one
An improved generic version is defined as the drug whose salt, indication and dose or dosage form is different from the brand-name drug`s.
An official of the MOHWF said that new improved generic drugs will be listed sooner on the national drug formulary because price negotiation between a drug maker and the Health Insurance Corporation can be omitted.
The MOHWF will have a hearing on the new bill by November 15.
By Eui Kyoung Yoon(ekyeun@dreamdrug.com)
Published : September 08, 2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
30, Oct. 2008 |
| Big drugmakers still recorded double-digit growth |
|
Big drugmakers recorded double-digit sales growth despite of tough business environments, according to the sources in the pharmaceutical industry.
The first half sales of Yuhan, Hanmi and Daewoong grew more than 16% compared to the same period last year while Korea`s biggest drugmaker Dong-A racked up 325.5 billion won in sales for the first half of the year with one-digit sales growth.
The estimated first-half sales of big five drugmakers are as follows
1. Dong-A………….…324.8 billion won…..6.2%
2. Yuhan………….…..281.4 billion won…..20%
3. Hanmi……………...274.3 billion won…..17%
4. Daewoong…………259.4 billion won…..16.7%
5. Green Cross………229.6 billion won…...10%
Most of small and medium-sized drugmakers have suffered as the government toughened regulations to improve good manufacturing practice, cut the drug prices and deleted some drugs from the national drug formulary.
Critics also pointed that drugmakers will be in more trouble as the government is trying to levy the costs of drugs, whose marketing approvals were canceled due to bioequivalence test data manipulation, from the drugmakers
By Eui Kyoung Yoon(ekyeun@dreamdrug.com)
Published : July 03, 2008 |
|
|
|
|
|
28, Oct. 2008 |
| Generic versions of Plavix rapidly penetrate market |
|
Generic versions of Plavix are rapidly penetrating the market, threatening Sanofi-Aventis`s Plavix.
According to the sources in the pharmaceutical industry, Dong-A`s Plavitor racked up about 15 billion won in sales in the first half. The sales Samjin`s Platless and Daewoong Cloart are also estimated to be more than 10 billion won in the first half.
Jinyang`s Krivix occupied 50% of the prescriptions written by primary care physicians while other generic versions such as Unimed`s Cerenade and Ildong`s Tromvix are taking more market shares.
Industry experts said that the market competition will be fiercer as Hanmi and Chong Kun Dang start to flex their marketing muscles in the second half for their improved generic versions of Plavix.
By Eui Kyoung Yoon(ekyeun@dreamdrug.com)
Published : July 03, 2008 | | | | | |
