Alvotech, an Iceland-based biosimilar company that recently debuted on the U.S. and Icelandic stock exchanges, held a news conference in Seoul on Wednesday to introduce itself to Korean investors and media.
Founded in 2013, Alvotech focuses on the development and manufacturing of biosimilars. It went public on Nasdaq in New York on June 16 and Iceland’s First North Growth Market on June 23.
It is rare for a Nasdaq-listed company to hold a press conference in Korea.
Mark Levick, CEO of Alvotech, said the company held the event to expose itself to Korean investors and media. “This is the first NDR (non-deal roadshow) after the Nasdaq listing,” Levick said.
Alvotech picked Korea as the site for the first NDR because Korea was “a special market where global biosimilar companies like Celltrion and Samsung Biologics (Samsung Bioepis) are located,” Levick explained. In addition, Korean investors have a deep understanding of how biosimilars work in the healthcare system.
When he explained Alvotech to foreign investors, he said the company was similar to Celltrion. But, then, the investors easily understood.
“We thought introducing ourselves in Korea first would be good for marketing,” he said.
He added that Alvotech had networked with Korean institutional investors before the stock market listing.
At the press conference, Alvotech talked about its strengths in global R&D capabilities, various pipelines, large-scale production facilities, and international sales networks.
Alvotech has eight biosimilar pipelines. Among them, the company is pushing to commercialize AVT02 (adalimumab), referencing Humira, and AVT04 (ustekinumab), referencing Stelara.
Alvotech said it planned to release AVT02 in 2023 when Humira’s patent expires in the U.S. Developing AVT02 as a high-concentration Humira biosimilar, the company aims to win interchangeable biosimilar approval.
Levick said that the Humira market in the U.S. is moving towards high-concentration drugs.
He emphasized that Alvotech was the only company that completed a phase 1 study of the pharmacokinetics of a high-concentration biosimilar alternative and a phase 3 study to verify the safety and efficacy.
“Our product will have a comparative advantage against other Humira biosimilars,” he said.
Alvotech also said it would build additional production facilities to expand the manufacturing site in Iceland to 26,000㎡ by 2024.
Choi Eun-sun, vice president at Alvogen, a sister company of Alvotech, said the company aims to enter each global market not through direct sales but a partnership with a local company because Alvotech wanted to focus on its expertise in biosimilar development and manufacturing.
“Our major partner firms include Teva in the U.S. and Stada in Europe,” she said.
According to Choi, this strategy tends to increase sales by preempting milestones in each market entry.
However, Alvotech was not looking for a Korean partner or attracting additional investment, she added.