Amgen Korea and Jeil Pharmaceutical said they signed an agreement to jointly sell Repatha (evolucumab), lipid-lowering drugs for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and hypercholesterolemia starting in June.

Under the agreement, Amgen Korea and Jeil Pharmaceutical will conduct Repatha sales and marketing activities jointly at tertiary and general hospitals. Jeil will handle sales and marketing at smaller hospitals and clinics alone.

The two companies expect that the joint promotion of Repatha will provide better treatment benefits for Korean patients with ultra-high cardiovascular risks and enhance competitiveness in the market.

Repatha is a PCSK9 inhibitor that lowers LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) levels by inhibiting the activities of PCSK9 protein that degrades the LDL-C receptor and increasing the reuse rate of the LDL-C receptor.

Amgen obtained the permit for Repatha in April 2017 and added indications such as atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, primary hypercholesterolemia, and mixed dyslipidemia in August 2018.

Noh Sang-kyung, general manager of Amgen, Korea, said Repatha is Amgen's key cardiovascular disease product. It provides new treatment opportunities for patients who had limited reduction in cardiovascular risks with conventional drugs.

He hoped that the co-promotion with Jeil could help Repatha get delivered to more ASCVD patients and doctors and make Repatha a new standard therapy.

Jeil Pharmaceutical CEO Sung Suk-je said, “With the joint sales agreement, we will strive to provide clinical benefits of Repatha to more cardiovascular disease patients.”