According to HealthKorea's analysis of UBIST data, dated 17th September, Singulair's cumulative prescription sales from January to July this year freefell to 17.128 billion won, 42.3% decrease, as compared with 29.679 billion won of the corresponding period last year. Singulair's patent expired 27th December, 2011.
Meanwhile, Lukair, CJ's co-marketing product with MSD Korea, is enjoying the benefit of market preoccupancy. Since Lukair is a generic twin drug of Singulair, MSD Korea has been blamed of its intention to block the release of other firms' generic drug through co-marketing with CJ. Lukair is generally accepted as a typical 'evergreening' product.
Evergreening refers to a variety of legal and business strategies by which technology producers with patents over products that are about to expire retain rent from them by either taking out new patents (for example over associated delivery systems, or new pharmaceutical mixtures) or by buying out or frustrating competitors, for longer periods of time than would normally be permissible under the law.
Under the two firms' agreement(actually with the connivance of MSD Korea), Lukair was released last June last year, ahead of other generic drugs. Due to its earlier entry into the market, Lukair's cumulative prescription from January to July this year rose to 6.474 billion won(monthly average 924.85 million won).
Given that the cumulative prescription for two months(June and July last year) was 339 million won(monthly average 170 million won),Lukair's leap is conspicuous.
Among other generic drugs, Hanmi Pharm's Montezal and Chong Kun Dang Pharm's Monolair have left other drugs far behind.
Montezal's January-July prescription reached 2.797 billion won, sustaining its No.1 position. Chong Kun Dang Pharm's Monolair is following Montezal with 2.110 billion won. Since the drugs are the outcome of domestic firms' own effort-making, they can be differentiated from Lukair with its birth dependent on MSD Korea.
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Sinil Pharm's Asthmon(840 million won), Daewoong Pharm's Montelock(669 million won), Ildong Pharm's Montelucan(471 million won), Shinpoong Pharm's Montena(456 million won), Angook Pharm's Curost(450 million won) are faring relatively well.
The products with its cumulative prescription over 200 million won are Boryung Pharm's Asthluka(299 million won) Yuhan Corp's Singkast(294 million won), Samil Pharm's Montellus(249 million won) , SK Chemical's MontefreeODF(214 million won).
-대한민국 의학전문지 헬스코리아뉴스-
