Competition in the Korean shingles vaccine market has reignited this year with the launch of GSK's Shingrix.

According to IQVIA, a drug market research firm, the local shingles vaccine market grew from 10.5 billion won ($8 million) in the fourth quarter of last year to 21.8 billion won in the first quarter of this year, a 107.6 percent increase, thanks to fierce competition between GSK's Shingrix, MSD's Zostavax, and SK Bioscience's Skyzoster.

SK Bioscience's Skyzoster was the top seller.

It generated 9.5 billion won in sales in the first quarter of this year alone, nearly doubling its sales from 5 billion won recorded in the fourth quarter of last year.

While industry watchers expected that the launch of GSK’s Shingrix would drastically change the shingles vaccine market share, SK Bioscience managed to hold onto its top position thanks to its convenience and affordability.

SK Bioscience had said that Skyzoster is available as a prefilled syringe with a single dose per injection, reducing the risk of contamination that can occur during the dilution process, and is convenient to administer as it requires only one dose, which also reduces the risk of shingles outbreaks and complications.

Amid the overall market growth, Shingrix rose to second place in the shingles vaccine market with sales of 6.3 billion won in the first quarter, just three months after its launch.

Initially, the vaccine struggled to establish itself in the domestic market due to the high cost of up to 600,000 won and the fact that patients had to receive two doses.

However, sales of the vaccine grew mainly at general hospitals.

Shingrix’ sales at general hospitals posted nearly 1.2 billion won, while Skyzoster and Zostavax each generated sales of about 600 million won.

GSK said that the sales exceeded their expectations.

"As an inactive vaccine, hospitals can use the Shingrix in patients taking immunosuppressive drugs," a GSK official told Korea Biomedical Review. "In contrast, Zostavax and Skyzoster are live attenuated vaccines, making it hard for hospitals to use the vaccine on adults with low immunity, making it hard for hospitals to use the vaccine on adults with low immunity."

As a result, when looking at only general hospitals, where clinical effectiveness is prioritized over price, Shingrix has beaten Skyzoster and Zostavax in sales, she added.

Shingrix has currently landed in more than 200 general hospitals, achieving GSK’s initial goal.

Meanwhile, MSD's Zostavax, which had been leading the domestic shingles vaccine market alongside Skyzoster, slipped to third place in sales amid tight supplies.

Still, the revenue from Zoastavax expanded from 4.6 billion won in the fourth quarter to 6 billion won in the first quarter, a 30.4 percent increase.