Celltrion Healthcare strengthened its product portfolio by launching Avastin biosimilar vegzelma (ingredient name: bevacizumab) in Japan, which has a large influence in the global biopharmaceuticals market.

In September last year, Vegzelma obtained permission from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) to sell major indications such as metastatic colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and metastatic breast cancer. Japan's Bevacizumab market is worth about 900 billion won, the second largest market in the world after the United States.

Celltrion explained that it is expected to enter the market stably because the cancer disease that Vegzelma is targeting in Japan is affected by the Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC) system that is favorable to biosimilars.  

Herzuma (ingredient name: Trastuzumab), an anti-cancer antibody biosimilar targeting breast and gastric cancer indications, recorded a market share of 57% (IQVIA) in Japan as of the third quarter of last year. Since 2021, beyond the original, it has maintained its No. 1 position in trastuzumab prescriptions.

Celltrion plans to lead the successful market settlement of Vegzelma, an anti-cancer biosimilar, by utilizing the experience and know-how gained in the sales process of Herzuma. In particular, as the product portfolio expands with the launch of Vegzelma, it is possible to introduce more diverse marketing strategies such as package deals, so the strategy is to expand prescriptions based on sales synergy with existing products.

An official from Celltrion Healthcare said, "In Japan, interest in biosimilars that can ease the government's financial burden is steadily increasing as the population aging accelerates." 

"As the newly launched Vegzelma is creating an environment for a stable position in the Japanese market, we will make all-out efforts to achieve successful prescription expansion based on the achievements of Remsima (ingredient name: Infliximab) and Herzuma," he said.

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