Celltrion said on the 22nd that it has launched the bone disease treatments "Stoboclo–Osenbelt (denosumab)" in major European countries including Germany, Spain and France. Stoboclo and Osenbelt are biosimilars of Prolia and Xgeva, developed by U.S.-based Amgen.
In Germany, the company began marketing activities targeting medical staff and patients alongside the product launch. Germany is considered a large market with a sizable osteoporosis patient population, so the strategy is to target hospitals and the prescription market led by the local subsidiary. Celltrion recently launched the eye disease treatment Eydenzelt (aflibercept) in Germany.
In France, the company will use its hospital-centered sales network built through sales of existing autoimmune disease treatments to expand prescriptions. It plans to carry out marketing activities targeting medical staff responsible for treating autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid disorders.
In Spain, after shifting to a direct sales system in May this year, the launch of Stoboclo–Osenbelt was completed. Osenbelt, the intravenous (IV) formulation, will be supplied through the local subsidiary, which has strengths in hospital channels, while Stoboclo, the subcutaneous (SC) formulation, will be sold through a distribution partner with competitiveness in retail channels.
In Portugal, the product launch has also been completed through the local subsidiary. For Stoboclo, the company will seek to expand prescriptions centered on rheumatology departments within general hospitals, and for Osenbelt, it plans to secure a supply base centered on tenders.
Celltrion plans to sequentially expand the countries where Stoboclo–Osenbelt is launched and increase its share in Europe's bone disease treatment market.
Meanwhile, the original medicines for Stoboclo–Osenbelt, Prolia and Xgeva, recorded combined global sales of about $6.599 billion (about 9.2 trillion won) as of last year. Stoboclo received European marketing authorization in Feb. this year for indications including postmenopausal osteoporosis and bone loss, and Osenbelt received authorization for indications including prevention of skeletal-related events from bone metastases in cancer patients and giant cell tumor of bone.