Celltrion said Thursday that its anti-cancer drugs are continuing to make an impact by winning tenders in key European countries.

First, Celltrion won multiple public hospital consortium bids in France, one of the five largest European countries, EU5: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the U.K.

Specifically, Herzuma (trastuzumab) and Vegzelma (bevacizumab) won the GRAPS and GAULoYS public hospital alliances, and Vegzelma won the GRECAPS, Groupement Niort, and Groupement PharmSERA tenders, respectively.

Together, these five public hospital associations account for approximately 10 percent of the French anti-cancer drug market and Celltrion will supply the products over the next two to four years under the agreements.

Wins continued in Italy, another EU5 country. All three of Celltrion's oncology drugs, including Truxima (rituximab), Herzuma, and Vegzelma, were successful in state tenders in Friuli-Venezia Giulia (FVG) and Sicilia.

As a result of the order, the drugs will be supplied to Sicily for the next two years and to FVG for four and a half years. In Italy, Celltrion's success in winning bids for not only anti-cancer drugs but also autoimmune diseases is expected to accelerate the expansion of prescriptions based on the strong preference for Celltrion drugs.

Wins have also been reported in Belgium and the Netherlands. Celltrion won a tender from Hospilim, an association of hospitals in the Limburg region of Belgium, to supply Herzuma and Vegzelma for the next four years.

In the Netherlands, the company won a bid from Santeon, an alliance of seven top hospitals, to supply Truxima and Herzuma for two years starting this month. Santeon is a major player in the Dutch pharmaceutical market, accounting for approximately 10 percent of the market.

Celltrion said that its market dominance across all of its drugs has been strengthened since the transition to direct sales, with back-to-back bid wins in Europe for autoimmune disease treatments followed by anticancer drugs.

According to medical market research firm IQVIA, Truxima continues to lead biosimilar prescriptions in Europe with a 23 percent market share as of Q3 2023, while Herzuma remains the number one trastuzumab biosimilar with a 29 percent share over the same period.

Vegzelma has also continued to grow steadily, reaching a 7 percent market share in Europe in just over a year since its launch in 2022.

"The launch of Vegzelma in 2022 will further expand our anti-cancer portfolio in Europe and enable us to continue to win tenders across the continent through our global direct sales capabilities and cross-product synergies," said Kim Dong-sik, Head of Europe RHQ 2 Department at Celltrion. "We will continue to ramp up our marketing efforts to ensure that Celltrion's biosimilars with proven therapeutic efficacy and safety are prescribed to more European patients."