12 August 2015 -  Celltrion, a South Korean biopharmaceutical company, is making headway in a newly emerging category of medicine known as biosimilars -- lower-cost copies of brand-name biologic drugs that have lost patent protection, around the world.

The Korean drugmaker on Monday said it has gained approval from Australia to begin selling Remsima -- its biosimilar replication of the world’s third best-selling rheumatoid arthritis treatment drug Remicade.

U.S.-based global pharmaceutical firm Hospira, Celltrion’s marketing partner, will take charge of the drug’s marketing, distribution and sales operations.

“Pricing greatly influences sales in Australia,” said a Celltrion official. “Given this, cheaper biosimilars (like Remsima) are set to hold a competitive edge in the price-sensitive Australian pharmaceuticals market.”

Industry watchers expect Celltrion to quickly gain a strong market share in the country, which “is favorable to low-cost biosimilars given that the government mandates firms to publicly share their drug pricing to promote price competition,” according to Eugene Investment & Securities analyst Shin Jae-hoon.

For more details, go to: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20150812000951