Celltrion has consecutively won bids for autoimmune disease treatments and anticancer drugs in Italy.
Celltrion's Italian subsidiary announced on the 12th that its autoimmune disease treatment Steqeyma (ingredient name ustekinumab), launched locally earlier this year, has been awarded contracts in the Veneto, Trentino Alto Adige, and Sardinia regions.
Steqeyma is a biosimilar (generic biopharmaceutical) of Stelara, an inflammatory autoimmune disease treatment developed by the U.S. subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
Celltrion noted that this award is a result of its previous participation in bids from four state governments. The company stated, "We succeeded in bids in seven states in Italy in the first half of the year," adding, "Supply of Steqeyma is expected to continue until May next year."
Bids conducted by state governments and hospitals in the European pharmaceutical market are important routes for the market entry of biosimilars.
Celltrion's autoimmune disease treatment Remsima (ingredient name infliximab) was also awarded a contract in the Umbrian region of Italy. Both intravenous (IV) and subcutaneous (Sc) formulations were included. In Puglia, Remsima SC successfully renewed its contract to be supplied until May 2027. Remsima SC is sold throughout all 20 regions in Italy.
In the institutional sector of anticancer drugs, the hematologic cancer treatment Truxima (rituximab) and the anticancer drug Vegzelma (bevacizumab) were awarded contracts in the Lazio and Umbria regions.
According to the market research firm IQVIA, the combined market share of Remsima IV and SC in Italy for the first quarter of this year is 66%. The autoimmune disease treatment Uyplima (ingredient name adalimumab) has a market share of 52% in the Lazio and Umbria regions. The three products, including the breast and stomach cancer treatment "Herzuma" (trastuzumab), Truxima, and Vegzelma, are recording market shares of 29–30%.
Yoo Won-sik, head of Celltrion's Italian subsidiary, stated, "We will continue to expand prescriptions for all products and achieve performance growth while launching new products and securing contracts in the second half of the year."