GC will stop manufacturing Urokinase, Korea’s first thrombolytic agent, after 45 years of its launch due to sluggish sales.

Urokinase has indications in treating cerebral thrombosis, cerebral infarction, peripheral vascular occlusion, acute myocardial infarction, and pulmonary embolism in Korea.

According to industry sources, GC has stopped producing Green Cross Urokinase in September last year after submitting its report to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in June. The company has also already sent out letters to medical institutions and wholesalers to inform them of the situation. With no additional production, the company expects that the remaining supply of the drug will deplete by April.

The ministry has approved the company’s decision to discontinue the treatment, as GC presented Boehringer Ingelheim’s Actilyse and Metalyse, and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma’s Novastan as a substitute drug.

When a company decides to discontinue the production of medicine, they must report alternative medication to the ministry, according to the law.