Chong Kun Dang said on the 1st that it signed an exclusive domestic sales contract for the chronic heart failure treatment "Verquvo" (ingredient name vericiguat) with Bayer Korea, the Korean subsidiary of the German pharmaceutical company Bayer.
Starting this month, Chong Kun Dang will handle exclusive distribution, sales, and marketing of Verquvo at hospitals and clinics in Korea.
Verquvo is a treatment for symptomatic chronic heart failure with a left ventricular ejection fraction reduced to less than 45%, and it received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in 2021. Among soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulators, it was the first in the world to be approved as a chronic heart failure treatment.
The therapy's efficacy was confirmed through global clinical trials and domestic studies. It showed effects such as reducing the risk of cardiovascular death and hospitalization due to heart failure in high‑risk patients with chronic heart failure who experienced worsening despite standard therapy. In Korea, reimbursement has applied since Sep. 2023.
Kim Young-ju, CEO of Chong Kun Dang, said, "Chong Kun Dang is leading the market based on long-standing experience and expertise in the cardiovascular disease field," and added, "With the exclusive domestic sales of Verquvo, we will build a differentiated portfolio and offer patients broader treatment options."
Lee Jin-a, CEO of Bayer Korea, said, "Through this collaboration with Chong Kun Dang, we expect that more domestic patients with chronic heart failure will be able to benefit from Verquvo's clinical advantages."