Celltrion said on the 25th that Omlyclo (OMLYCLO), a treatment for chronic spontaneous urticaria launched in Europe in Sep., has been released in major countries, including Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and France.
Omlyclo is a biosimilar of Xolair (ingredient name omalizumab), an antibody therapy jointly developed by Novartis of the United States and Roche of Switzerland. Xolair is used to treat asthma and chronic spontaneous urticaria, and recorded about 6.5 trillion won in global sales last year.
Celltrion received approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in May last year, the first for an omalizumab biosimilar. Starting with sales in Norway, a key country in Northern Europe, it is also supplying hospitals in the Netherlands through tenders. Through this tender, Celltrion secured about 70% of the omalizumab market volume in the Netherlands.
Celltrion is expanding its launch regions in Europe and pursuing sales strategies tailored to each country's market characteristics. In tender-focused countries such as Spain and the United Kingdom, it is leveraging the absence of competing biosimilars, while in sales-driven markets such as Germany, it plans marketing activities to raise product awareness among medical staff and pharmacies. The company said some countries are placing preorders even before tenders open.
Ha Tae-hoon, head of Celltrion's Europe division, said, "Omlyclo is the first omalizumab biosimilar to be launched in Europe," adding, "We plan to gradually expand our presence in the market based on quality and safety data."