SK Biopharm's 'Cenobamate' Launches in France... Successful Entry into Europe's Top 5 Countries

SK Biopharm's innovative epilepsy drug Cenobamate.
Photo by SK Biopharm

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] SK Biopharm announced on the 9th that its innovative epilepsy treatment drug, Cenobamate, has received marketing authorization in France. With this, it has successfully launched in the five largest European economies: Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and France.

Cenobamate obtained marketing approval from the European Commission (EC) in March last year and officially entered the European market under the product name "ONTOZRY®." In June of the same year, SK Biopharm's partner, Angelini Pharma, first launched ONTOZRY in Germany, the largest pharmaceutical market in Europe.

Starting with Germany, Cenobamate has expanded its reach to the five major European markets within a year and a half. The epilepsy market in these countries is approximately $1.7 billion (about 2.24 trillion KRW), accounting for 73% of the entire European market.

With the launch in France, ONTOZRY is now marketed in a total of 15 countries across Europe. SK Biopharm stated, "With the expansion of ONTOZRY sales in Europe, we expect to secure milestone revenues linked to sales royalties and performance from Angelini Pharma."

Meanwhile, SK Biopharm recently received the "100 Million Dollar Export Tower" award solely for Cenobamate. This was due to surpassing $100 million in exports to the U.S. and Europe over one year from July 1 of last year to June 30 of this year. Cenobamate received FDA approval in 2019 and is sold in the U.S. under the product name "Xcopri."