Celltrion said Friday that the company’s Brazilian subsidiary has won the Federal Government of Brazil’s bid to supply Herzuma (ingredient: trastuzumab) for the fifth consecutive year, with around 660,000 vials to be delivered through 2025.

Herzuma continues to be the top-prescribed biologic in Brazil, consistently capturing more than half of the market share each year, outperforming competing trastuzumab biologics, including the original reference product, Genentech's Herceptin. Celltrion said that its Brazilian subsidiary’s direct sales strategy and the product’s competitive pricing have helped solidify the company’s dominant position.

Brazil, with a population of 217.63 million, represents over half of the Latin American pharmaceutical market, making it a key market due to its economic and geopolitical influence in the region.

Pharmaceutical supply in Brazil is divided between the public healthcare market, managed by the federal government, and the private sector, which includes select hospitals with individualized specifications. The federal tender for trastuzumab covers more than two-thirds of the public market for this drug.

To sustain its strong performance, Celltrion’s Brazilian subsidiary has built a local network of stakeholders and leveraged its global biopharmaceutical supply capabilities, with the capacity to deliver 660,000 vials playing a critical role in securing the tender.

In addition to Herzuma, Celltrion said its autoimmune disease drug Remsima SC (ingredient: infliximab) continues to perform well in Brazil. The company's Brazilian operations recently won the Federal Government of Brazil’s bid to supply Remsima SC for the third consecutive year, and last month, the federal government requested that the Brazilian subsidiary supply an additional 90,000 vials, which represents 25 percent of this year's Remsima SC contract volume. 

In Brazil, a pharmaceutical company can be requested to supply up to 25 percent of the volume supplied during the tender period, and Celltrion's Brazilian subsidiary has completed discussions with the country's federal government to supply the additional volume later this year.

A recent development could further bolster Celltrion’s position in the Brazilian market. Brazil’s National Committee for Health Technology Incorporation (CONITEC) has recommended the registration of an infliximab subcutaneous (SC) formulation in the country’s publicly funded healthcare system, Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS).

As the only subcutaneous formulation of infliximab globally, Celltrion said Remsima SC is poised to have a monopoly in this emerging market, with sales expected to be strong and stable.

Kang Kyung-doo, head of Celltrion’s Latin America region, highlighted the factors behind the company’s success. “Our product competitiveness—combining the superior therapeutic efficacy of biopharmaceuticals with reasonable pricing—along with our reputation as a global leader in biosimilars, have enabled us to secure the federal government tender for Herzuma in Brazil.”

Kang added that Celltrion aims to solidify the market dominance of its existing products, including Herzuma, while preparing to launch Vegzelma (ingredient: bevacizumab-adcd) later this year.