Kanarb seeks to expand global presence

Boryung Pharmaceutical President Choi Tae-hong speaks during an interview at the company office in Jongno, Seoul. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

By Lee Kyung-min

Boryung Pharmaceutical President Choi Tae-hong said Thursday that he is seeking to expand sales of Kanarb, the first high blood pressure drug developed in Korea, globally amid fierce competition in a market dominated by multinational drug companies.

Boryung put 12 years of research and development along an investment of 50 billion-won ($41.7 million) into developing the hypertension drug, and the effort has borne fruit, with both domestic sales and exports rising.

Kanarb is an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), a type of drug that blocks the protein angiotensin II from binding to certain areas of blood vessels, thereby preventing blood vessels from being blocked.

“I believe Kanarb will be attractive to global pharmaceutical companies that are seeking to strengthen partnerships with their Korean counterparts for meaningful investment into research and development, following our drug’s success in sales, reviews, as well as its clinical values proven through numerous clinical trials,” Choi said in an interview at the company building in Seoul.

Since March 2011, one year after the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s approval in 2010, the drug’s domestic sales have more than tripled from 10 billion won to 32.7 billion won last year, with its accumulated overseas sales in 29 countries standing at $350 million as of last year.

Kanarb is the first high blood pressure drug developed in Korea by Boryung Pharmaceutical. Courtesy of Boryung Pharmaceutical

In October 2011, Boryung signed a $30 million license-out deal with Mexico-based Stendhal to sell Kanarb in 13 South and Central American countries including Mexico, where it drew most success.

In the first week of August last year, Kanarb was the most prescribed medication by cardiovascular specialists there, taking up 18.8 percent of the prescriptions for high blood pressure. It was ― and still remains ― unprecedented for original drugs developed by a Korean company to top the most-prescribed drug list overseas, according to Choi.

“Many people in Mexico are suffering from high blood pressure due to obesity as well as their high sodium intake. I am glad our drug effectively helped patients there,” he said.

Boryung signed a similar license-out deal worth $43 million with Brazil-based Ache in October 2012, and another worth $15 million with Russia-based R-Pharm in January 2013.

Kanarb is awaiting final reports from Russia’s drug authorities following completion of three-phase clinical trials there, with sales approval expected within the year.

The latest deal worth $129 million was signed in June last year with Hong Kong-based Zuellig Pharma to sell Kanarb in 13 Southeast Asian countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

So far, Kanarb was approved for sales in Mexico, Ecuador, Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama, Colombia, and Guatemala, with the approval in five more countries expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Kanarb was also the first Korean developed drug for which Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency granted permission to begin a clinical test in June last year.

Currently, the phase-one clinical trial of Kanarb is also ongoing in the United States following approval by the Food and Drug Administration. In the U.S., 30 million people are suffering from both high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia, which refers to increased levels of fats in the blood, a condition that significantly increases the risk of developing cardiovascular and arterial diseases.

Talks are underway with the German drug authorities as well to obtain necessary approvals to sell Kanab there.

Such success is attributable to clinical trials conducted on 37,473 people including 14,000 Koreans, according to Choi.

“The evidence-based analysis on the effectiveness and safety of Kanarb, which we have accumulated through clinical trials, is the source of our confidence in the drug. Based on the many sample cases, I believe Kanarb would effectively help treat patients overseas,” he added.

As of 2014, the size of the world’s pharmaceutical market was estimated at about $1.2 trillion, with annual growth rate of 6.2 percent over the past 10 years. Of the total, the hypertension drug market ($47.5 million) was the fourth largest sector following anti-cancer drugs ($74.4 million), anti-diabetics ($63.6 million), and painkillers ($59.8 million). The Korean pharmaceutical market accounted for 1.79 percent of the global market.

Meeting of hypertension experts

Boryung will introduce Kanarb at the 26th Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Hypertension, scheduled to be held from Sept. 24 to 29 at the COEX in southern Seoul.

Jointly hosted by the International Society of Hypertension, the Asian Pacific Society of Hypertension, and the Korean Society of Hypertension, the biennial forum is dedicated to research into the causes of hypertension and the best treatments for it.

The event will be attended by some 5,000 scientists, clinicians and healthcare workers including some 3,000 foreigners from more than 100 countries.

European countries and non-European countries take turns to hold the event. Korea is the second Asian country to host the event after Japan which organized it in 2006.

Boryung will have five sessions to introduce and discuss clinical studies on Kanarb and compare it to drugs made by multinational pharmaceutical firms.

Boryung expects this year’s event will be as successful as 2014’s International Society of Hypertension held in Athens, Greece, where the company organized a satellite symposium to introduce Kanarb, the first Korean pharmaceutical firm to do so.

“Unlike past forums where experts from only foreign countries introduced and marketed their drugs, this year’s forum will be a prime opportunity for us to introduce Kanarb and promote the competitiveness of Korea-developed drugs,“ Choi said.