With their biosimilars, Samsung Bioepis and Chong Kun Dang will soon compete to secure a larger ranibizumab market share for treating wet age-related macular degeneration in Korea. The wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD) treatment market is expected to see fierce competition this year as Samsung Bioepis and Chong Kun Dang's Lucentis (ingredient: ranibizumab) biosimilar – Amelivu and LucenBS -- have started receiving reimbursement from January.

Lucentis is a wAMD treatment developed by Genentech and sold by Novartis.

Wet AMD, the top cause of blindness for people over 65, is a disease that occurs due to abnormal new blood vessels growing and degenerating in the macula, an optic nerve tissue in the center of the retina.

It occurs mainly in the elderly, and the number of patients tends to increase along with the population aging.

Lucentis, one of the main treatments for wAMD, recorded about 35 billion won ($28.4 million) sales in Korea in 2021. 

However, biosimilars by Chong Kun Dang and Samsung Bioepis, cheaper than the original drug, are expected to disrupt the market.

The price of Samsung Bioepis' Amelivu is set at 460,000 won and Chong Kun Dang's LucenBS, 300,000 won. The price of Lucentis, the original, is 820,000 won, but the price will drop to 580,000 won from next month due to the launch of the two biosimilars.

Even considering the original price cut, LucenBS and Amelivu are 280,000 won and 120,000 won cheaper than Lucentis.

As Lucentis is administered once a month, its hefty price tag been a burden to patients.

Industry watchers expect that the launch of more affordable drugs will expand the ranibizumab market to include patients who have been taking Lucentis without reimbursement or who received Avastin, a cheaper alternative to Lucentis.

Samsung Bioepis highlighted its clinical trial size and approval from major advanced countries, such as the U.S., EU, and Korea, while Chong Kun Dang stressed that its biosimilar is the cheapest among the three.

"Amelivu has already received approval in the U.S. and Europe, which proves that the drug has received recognition from global top drug regulatory agencies," a Samsung Bioepis official told Korea Biomedical Review. "We also have a larger clinical trial pool when compared to LucenBS."

The official also stressed that Samsung Bioepis' partnership with Samil Pharmaceutical, which is a strong player in eye disease treatments, will help them quickly gain a local market share.

An official from Chong Kun Dang emphasized, "The price of LucenBS is much lower than Lucentis and Amelivu, so it can greatly reduce the financial burden of patients."

Some obstacles still remain

Although the Lucentis biosimilars have completed preparations for launch thanks to the health insurance coverage, for prescriptions to start in earnest, both biosimilars must pass the drug committee (DC) at general hospitals.

This is because Lucentis prescriptions are mostly made in large hospitals, so the success or failure of the two biosimilars may be determined by how quickly they can get through the DCs and receive a code designation.

Accordingly, ahead of the prescription competition, industry watchers expect that Samsung Bioepis and Chong Kun Dang will put all their energy into passing through DC to secure as many hospitals as possible.