Celltrion has shifted to a direct sales model in Spain, ending its final indirect sales partnership among Europe’s five largest pharmaceutical markets and completing its transition to locally led operations across the region.

The company said Wednesday it finalized the termination of its partnership with Kern Pharma, and began selling its oncology drugs through its Spanish subsidiary this month.

The local unit is initially marketing three biosimilars: Truxima (rituximab) for blood cancer, Herzuma (trastuzumab) for breast cancer, and Vegzelma (bevacizumab) for ​colorectal and breast cancers.

Autoimmune treatments such as Remsima (infliximab), Remsima SC (marketed in the U.S. as Zymfentra), Yuflyma (adalimumab), and Steqeyma (ustekinumab) remain under Kern Pharma distribution, though Celltrion said it is in talks to transition those products as well.

Celltrion said its Spanish subsidiary recently secured a contract with the "Consortium of Health and Social of Catalonia (CSC)," one of Spain’s largest hospital procurement bodies, which supplies medicines to 25 public hospitals in the region. The deal covers Truxima and Herzuma for a four-year term through 2029. 

“Celltrion became the first Korean pharmaceutical and biotech company to establish direct sales operations in Europe back in 2020,” said Kang Seok-hoon, general manager of Celltrion’s Spanish and Portuguese subsidiaries. “Now, with the successful transition in Spain, we’ve demonstrated our independent commercial strength across all five major European markets.”

Celltrion also launched direct sales in neighboring Portugal. After setting up a local subsidiary in February 2024, the company introduced Steqeyma in December and, following further negotiations, said it expanded direct sales last month to include its entire autoimmune and oncology lineup.

With its direct sales operations now stabilized, Celltrion added it aims to leverage strategic pricing in competitive tenders and prepare for additional product launches, including the autoimmune disease treatment Avtozma (tocilizumab) later this year.