The Korea Orphan & Essential Drug Center (KOEDC) supplied syphilis treatment Benzetacil (ingredient: benzathine penicillin) the most among the orphan and essential drugs in the first quarter in 2021, government data showed.
The number of supply cases of Epidyolex (cannabidiol), cannabis for medical use such as epilepsy treatment that won insurance benefits in April, also exceeded 160 in the first three months.
KOEDC recently announced the volume of drugs supplied by the center in the first quarter.
According to the data, KOEDC provided 101 treatments in the first quarter, including 19 reimbursable and 53 non-reimbursable drugs among emergency medicines, and 27 drugs for self-treatment. The drugs also included one reimbursable narcotic drug for emergency use and one non-reimbursable narcotic drug for emergency use.
KOEDC supplied Benzetacil, covered by health insurance, for 330 cases with 9,600 vials.
The drug ranked first in terms of the number of supply cases and the volume among drugs provided by the center.
In 2020 also, KOEDC supplied Benzetacil the most with 1,461 cases.
Benzetacil is indicated for syphilis treatment and recurrence prevention of rheumatic fever.
Syphilis is a genital and systemic disease caused by a syphilis infection. The disease is transmitted through sexual contact, vertical infection, and bloodborne infection.
The number of syphilis cases reported to the health authorities jumped about 82 percent in eight years, from 965 in 2011 to 1,753 in 2019.
KOEDC also supplied Epidyolex, a reimbursable narcotic drug for emergency use, for 163 cases with 459 vials in the first quarter.
Epidyolex is used as adjuvant therapy in combination with clobazam for seizures related to Lennox-Gastaut syndrome or Dravet syndrome in patients aged two or older.
KOEDC started supplying Epidyolex in March 2019 when the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety allowed the drug for emergency use.
According to information by the health authorities, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome is the most severe form of epilepsy that occurs in childhood between the ages of one and eight. It causes several types of convulsions, developmental failure, and behavioral disorders such as impulse control disorder.
Most patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome do not respond to drugs well and their long-term prognosis tends to be poor because of cognitive decline and persistent epilepsy.
When granting insurance benefits for Epidyolex, the Ministry of Health and Welfare cited the drug as the treatment for patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome in the textbook and clinical treatment guidelines. The ministry said that it decided to approve reimbursement for Epidyolex because patients treated with cannabidiol as an add-on therapy had a significant reduction in seizures compared to the placebo group in a clinical study.