GENE ONLINE|News &
Opinion
Blog

2021-09-02| Asia-Pacific

South Korea’s Boryung Launches Avastin Biosimilar Developed by Samsung Bioepis

by Kathy Huang
Share To

On September 1, South Korea’s Boryung Pharmaceutical announced the launch of Onbevzi, a biosimilar of Roche’s blockbuster cancer drug Avastin (bevacizumab). Onbevzi was developed by Samsung Bioepis and won approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) last August.

Boryung acquired exclusive sales rights in Korea for the drug from its developer earlier this May. 

According to data compiled from IQVIA, a data sciences company, Avastin sold over 120 billion KRW in Korea in 2020. Therefore, it is conceivable the market potential of the drug attracted South Korea’s biggest anticancer drugs manufacturer Boryung to plunge in.

Related Article: Addressing The Global Need for Biosimilars: Current Trends, Expectations, and Real-World Experiences

 

What Is Avastin?

Avastin is a monoclonal antibody developed by Roche. Unlike chemotherapy which attacks cancer cells directly, Avastin strikes the cancer cells from another angle.

The drug blocks the vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A), a protein that is produced in excess by cancer cells. VEGF-A promotes the formation of new blood vessels that supply cancer cells with oxygen and nutrients. By reducing VEGF-A activity, slows down the growth of new blood vessels in patients and therefore prevents tumor progression. 

Avastin is used to treat non-small cell lung cancer, advanced breast cancer, kidney cancer, and bowel cancer. The drug can also be combined with chemotherapy.

 

Onbevzi’s Advantages over Avastin 

Onbevzi’s indications include metastatic colorectal cancer, breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and epithelial ovarian cancer. The indications for Onbevzi overlap with those for Avastin.  

What makes Onbevzi unique is its low price: it is 37% cheaper than Avastin. According to Boryung, the competitiveness in its drug price and the enhanced ease of use will quickly expand its market share in Korea.    

©www.geneonline.com All rights reserved. Collaborate with us: service@geneonlineasia.com
Related Post
Biocon and Viatris Hit Another FDA Wall with Avastin Biosimilar
2023-02-13
Celltrion’s Avastin Biosimilar Gets FDA Greenlight
2022-09-29
Organon Licenses Biosimilars From Shanghai’s Henlius For $103 Million
2022-06-14
LATEST
From Sweet to Risky: The Alarming Findings on Sucralose’s Genotoxicity
2023-06-07
GHG Emissions as a ESG Metric
2023-06-07
NSTC Joins Forces with Taiwan Biomedical Start-ups to Rise to the World Stage, Showcasing Innovations at US BIO’s Demo Day
2023-06-07
Krystal Biotech’s First Topical Gene Therapy Approved by FDA
2023-06-06
The Emergence of General AI for Medicine: Medical Applications of ChatGPT
2023-06-06
Strengthening Genetic Screening Platform in APAC for Lung Cancer Precision Medicine: An Interview with Dr. Koichi Goto
2023-06-05
2023 International Healthcare Week: Showcasing Emerging Competencies of Hong Kong’s Biomedical Industry
2023-06-05
Scroll to Top