Celltrion Pharm said Wednesday it would begin the sales of Yuflyma, a new biosimilar of AbbVie's blockbuster drug Humira (Ingredient: Adalimumab), in Korea.

Yuflyma obtained product approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in February last year and started sales in Europe.

In Korea, the company obtained product approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in October and insurance benefits on Tuesday. As a result, the company will launch Yuflyma 40mg/0.4ml at 244,877 won ($203) for a single dose. However, the patient's financial burden will remain at 24,488 won due to reimbursement.

In celebration of the launch, Celltrion Pharm has held workshops to share the latest data on autoimmune disease treatments, dividing themes by indications. It held a symposium for rheumatologists in February and planned to host one for gastroenterologists from March 11-12.

"Before we begin the marketing of Yuflyma in earnest, we have managed to build a strong product portfolio in the autoimmune disease treatment market along with the existing Remsima product lineup," a company official said. "To quickly establish Yuflyma as a new treatment option that meets the needs of medical staff and patients, we will pay close attention to all aspects of access expansion, including the supply of treatments."

According to Celltrion, Yuflyma is the world's first high-concentration formulation of the adalimumab-based biosimilar. While the existing Humira biosimilar products used a low concentration, the company's biosimilar uses a high concentration formulation that reduced the dosage of drugs in half and removed citrate, which can cause pain in patients, it said.

Yuflyma's original drug, Humira, is an autoimmune disease treatment developed by AbbVie. Humira is a blockbuster drug most sold globally, recording about 22 trillion won in worldwide sales in 2020.