Celltrion's Remsima becomes Korea's first 'blockbuster' drug

Celltrion's Remsima / Courtesy of Celltrion

Celltrion’s Remsima surpassed 1 trillion won ($699 million) in sales last year, making it the first drug developed by a Korean company to achieve blockbuster status, the biotech company said Wednesday.

Celltrion reported sales of 3.56 trillion won and an operating profit of 492 billion won last year. Remsima accounted for 35.6 percent of total sales, generating 1.27 trillion won.

While the global pharmaceutical industry defines a drug as a blockbuster when its annual sales surpass $1 billion, the Korean industry sets the threshold at 1 trillion won. Although Remsima's 1.27 trillion won in sales does not meet the global standard, Celltrion emphasized its significance, as it is the first drug developed by a Korean company to reach the Korean milestone.

Remsima is a biosimilar to Johnson & Johnson’s autoimmune disease treatment, Remicade. It is the world’s first antibody biosimilar, inspiring global pharmaceutical companies to pursue the development of biosimilars for original drugs nearing patent expiration.

It is also the first antibody biosimilar to surpass its original biologic in market share. Launched in Europe in September 2013, Remsima achieved a 52 percent market share in Europe by the end of 2017, overtaking the original product for the first time.

“It is truly meaningful that Remsima has reached a significant milestone in Korea’s pharmaceutical and biotech history by becoming the country’s first global blockbuster drug,” a Celltrion official said. “We will not rest on the success of Remsima but will accelerate the launch of follow-up biosimilars. Moving forward, we will stay committed to developing new drugs to duplicate the success story of Remsima.”