Samyang-HK Innoen Join Hands to Sell Anticancer Drug 'Genexol'

Domestic Paclitaxel Market Holds Majority Share

Jiheon Jong, Executive Director of ETC Business Division at HK Innoen, and Yongjin Lee, Head of Pharmaceutical PU at Samyang Holdings Biopharm Group (from left), signed a joint sales partnership for Samyang Holdings Biopharm Group's 'Genexol Injection (active ingredient Paclitaxel)' on the 13th at the HK Innoen Seoul office training room and are taking a commemorative photo. Photo by Samyang Holdings

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] Samyang Holdings and HK inno.N are launching a joint sales effort for the domestic sales and marketing of the anticancer drug 'Genexol Injection (active ingredient Paclitaxel)'.

On the 16th, the two companies announced that they signed a joint sales contract for Genexol Injection on the 13th at HK inno.N's Seoul office in Jung-gu, Seoul. Through this agreement, both companies will jointly handle marketing and sales at tertiary hospitals in the metropolitan area, while HK inno.N will be responsible for other regions. HK inno.N will manage domestic distribution and sales.

Paclitaxel is an anticancer drug used to treat breast cancer, ovarian cancer, lung cancer, and others. The original drug, 'Taxol,' was first developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) in 1990. Samyang Holdings' Biopharm Group developed Genexol with the same active ingredient in 2001. In South Korea, Genexol surpassed Taxol's sales for the first time in 2017 and has maintained the number one position in the paclitaxel formulation market by holding over 50% market share. According to IQVIA, sales based on prescription amounts reached 22 billion KRW from October 2021 to September 2022. Until last year, Boryung was responsible for Genexol's sales, but from this year, HK inno.N has become the co-promotion partner.

Through this strategic alliance, Samyang Holdings plans to leverage Genexol's high recognition as the number one paclitaxel formulation and its stable efficacy to aggressively target the market. They intend to conduct academic marketing with medical professionals to disseminate specialized knowledge on related diseases and promote the superior quality and effectiveness of Genexol based on proven data. Additionally, by combining Samyang Holdings' product development and manufacturing infrastructure with HK inno.N's experience in anticancer drug sales and marketing, they aim to firmly secure the top position in the paclitaxel formulation market.

Samyang Holdings Biopharm Group's anticancer drug 'Genexol Injection'
[Photo by Samyang Holdings]

Notably, this agreement was significantly influenced by HK inno.N's experience in domestic sales of Genexol for 13 years from 2001 to 2013. Based on the high level of understanding of the product and market accumulated through past partnerships, it is expected that the two companies will create positive synergy in the anticancer drug market going forward.

Lee Young-jun, CEO of Samyang Holdings, said, “HK inno.N was selected as the new joint sales partner for Genexol Injection because they have over 10 years of sales experience with Genexol, a high understanding of the product, and a professional anticancer drug sales organization. Through the partnership with HK inno.N, we will firmly maintain the number one position in the domestic market and provide medical solutions that can improve the quality of life for more patients.” Kwak Dal-won, CEO of HK inno.N, also stated, “Just as the two companies have collaborated for a long time and achieved good results, we expect positive outcomes for Genexol Injection as well.”