Pfizer Korea and Hanlim MS to co-market Enbrel following Xeljanz

Pfizer Korea and Hanlim MS are strengthening their partnership to co-market immunology disease treatments.

Pfizer Korea said Tuesday that the company has signed an agreement with Hanlim MS to co-market Enbrel (etanercept), the first anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitor approved for treating rheumatoid arthritis.

Through this agreement, the two companies will collaborate on various activities, from marketing to sales, to enable more patients to benefit from Enbrel treatment. In particular, Pfizer Korea and Hanlim MS plan to further strengthen their synergies in the inflammatory and immunologic diseases business by expanding the scope of their partnership with this agreement. This agreement follows the co-commercialization of Xeljanz in February, Pfizer Korea said.

Hanlim MS has extensive know-how in the distribution and supply of inflammatory and immune diseases. It launched the Rheumatology Division, a sales organization specializing in rheumatology, in 2010 and expanded it to the Immunology Division in 2024, it added.

According to Pfizer Korea, Enbrel is the world's first TNF-α inhibitor approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1998 for treating rheumatoid arthritis. It was approved in Korea in 2003. Enbrel has six indications: adult rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis (ankylosing spondylitis, radiographically unidentified axial spondyloarthritis), psoriasis, and juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

As of February 2023, Enbrel has accumulated over 8 million patient years (PY) of experience worldwide.

"Since the launch of Enbrel in Korea, Pfizer Korea has made various efforts to realize innovations that change patients' lives in terms of patient ease of use and treatment adherence," Pfizer Korea CEO Oh Dong-wook said. "Through our enhanced strategic collaboration with Hanlim MS, which has know-how in inflammatory immune diseases, we will do our best to improve patient's quality of life by providing healthcare providers and patients with the differentiated therapeutic benefits of Enbrel."

Hanlim MS CEO Kim Jung-jin Kim said, "This Enbrel co-marketing agreement, along with the co-commercialization of Xeljanz, will provide hope to patients with autoimmune diseases by offering healthcare providers a variety of treatment options."

Enbrel is available in various formulations, including Enbrel Injection 25 mg, Enbrel 50 mg Prefilled Injection, and Enbrel Mycophene Injection 50 mg. In addition, Enbrel offers patients an effective treatment option with a proven safety profile and a benefit-risk profile that has been validated in the long-term treatment of rheumatologic patients.