South Korean Pharmaceutical Companies Make Bold Push Into Autoimmune Disease Market | Be Korea-savvy

South Korean Pharmaceutical Companies Make Bold Push Into Autoimmune Disease Market


South Korean drug manufacturers are rapidly expanding their presence in the global autoimmune disease treatment market. (Image courtesy of Korea Bizwire)

South Korean drug manufacturers are rapidly expanding their presence in the global autoimmune disease treatment market. (Image courtesy of Korea Bizwire)

SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Korea Bizwire)  South Korean drug manufacturers are rapidly expanding their presence in the global autoimmune disease treatment market, challenging the longtime dominance of Western pharmaceutical giants.

Autoimmune diseases, which occur when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own organs, tissues, and cells, encompass a range of conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease, Type 1 diabetes, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and celiac disease.

According to a recent report by MarketsandMarkets, the global immunotherapy market, valued at $255.9 billion in 2023, is projected to reach $580.6 billion by 2029, growing at an annual rate of 15.3%.

While international pharmaceutical companies maintain their market leadership – with products like Janssen’s Stelara generating approximately $12 billion in annual global sales for treating conditions such as plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis – Korean companies are making significant inroads. 

Celltrion, a leading Korean biotechnology firm, has successfully developed Zymfentra, a subcutaneous version of the company’s intravenous autoimmune disease treatment Remsima. The drug has received regulatory approval in the United States and Europe for treating ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease following successful Phase 3 clinical trials.

Another notable entry is Celltrion’s Steqeyma, a biosimilar of Stelara, which has already launched five major European markets: Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, and France. The drug works by inhibiting interleukin-12 and -23 activity to treat various conditions including plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

Dong-A ST has also entered the market with Imuldosa, another Stelara biosimilar, developed in partnership with Meiji Seika Pharma since 2013. The drug received regulatory approval in both the United States and Europe last year. Similarly, Samsung Bioepis has launched its own Stelara biosimilar, Pyzchiva, in Europe.

Korean companies are also actively engaging in technology transfers. HanAll Biopharma licensed its autoimmune disease treatment Batoclimab to U.S.-based Immunovant in 2017, with the drug showing promising results in Phase 2a trials for Graves’ disease, an autoimmune thyroid condition. 

In another significant deal, IMBiologics, a Korean antibody drug biotech startup, licensed two candidate substances to China’s Huadong Medicine last year. These include IMB-101, a bispecific antibody targeting both OX40L and tumor necrosis factor, and IMB-102, a monospecific antibody targeting OX40L, developed in collaboration with HK inno.N and Y-Biologics. 

However, the industry has faced some setbacks. Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s oral autoimmune disease treatment candidate DWP213388, designed to inhibit overactive B and T cells in autoimmune patients, was returned by U.S.-based Vitality Biopharma last year following the termination of their licensing agreement.

Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com) 

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