AZ "Tagrisso, Lung Cancer Backbone Treatment... Firmly Maintains No.1 Market Share in Korea"

Domestic Market Share: Tagrisso 69% vs. Reklaza 31%
Expanding Market Globally with Various Indications

"After the application of first-line treatment reimbursement, Tagrisso has recorded the highest domestic market share in the corresponding treatment market. We have a solid position as a market leader and will continue to emphasize that it is a fundamental treatment for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) lung cancer treatment." (Bora Shim, Executive Director, Oncology Business Unit, Korea AZ)

On the 11th, at the Tagrisso press conference held at The Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, Professor Lee Se-hoon of the Department of Oncology at Samsung Seoul Hospital is giving a lecture on "The Value of Tagrisso as a Global Fundamental Treatment."
[Photo by Lee Chun-hee]

AZ has actively promoted the superiority of Tagrisso, its key weapon to maintain the throne in lung cancer treatment. Recently, Yuhan Corporation's lung cancer drug Rybrevant challenged the market by partnering with global big pharma Johnson & Johnson (J&J), but AZ emphasized that Tagrisso is maintaining its solid position.

Korea AZ highlighted Tagrisso's superiority at a briefing held on the 11th at The Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, titled 'Global Standard for EGFR Mutation Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment: Clinical Data and Treatment Value Review of Tagrisso,' emphasizing ▲the only first-line treatment 'preferred' regimen listed by the U.S. National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) ▲FDA approval for both monotherapy and combination therapy as first-line treatments ▲the most indications among treatments, including second-line therapy and adjuvant therapy after surgery, in addition to first-line treatment.

Professor Sehoon Lee of the Department of Oncology at Samsung Medical Center, who presented on 'The Value of Tagrisso as a Global Fundamental Treatment' at the event, supported these claims by referring to various clinical trials AZ has conducted related to Tagrisso. Professor Lee praised Tagrisso for its excellent ability to suppress brain metastases of cancer cells, which are problematic during lung cancer treatment, and for its low toxicity. He said, "During the development process, Tagrisso aimed to be a drug that could effectively cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to prevent brain metastases while avoiding brain toxicity. Since EGFR is a gene present throughout the body, the core of Tagrisso's development was to differentiate inhibitory ability between the general 'wild type' and the 'mutant' found in cancer cells."

AstraZeneca's non-small cell lung cancer treatment 'Tagrisso (active ingredient Osimertinib)'
[Photo by Korea AstraZeneca]

AZ has additionally developed treatment methods such as the 'FLAURA2' regimen, which combines Tagrisso with chemotherapy for high-risk patients, and 'ADAURA' as adjuvant therapy after surgery, both of which have been approved by major global regulatory agencies. Regarding ADAURA, Professor Lee said, "More than 50% of lung cancer patients relapse within five years after resection surgery, but ADAURA reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 77%," calling it "a remarkable drug that gives a feeling of living in a completely different world." He emphasized, "Lung cancer mainly recurs in the central nervous system (CNS), such as the brain, and ADAURA reduced this risk by 76%. Preventing CNS recurrence is important because brain sequelae significantly affect quality of life."

Regarding the ongoing clinical trial of the FLAURA2 regimen, he said, "It is not just an 'additional effect' but has the potential for a 'synergistic effect.' It showed efficacy even in the more resistant sub-mutation (L858R), and chemotherapy was considered less effective for patients with brain metastases, but combination therapy is expected to improve progression-free survival (PFS)," suggesting its potential as an advanced treatment method.

Professor Lee also cautioned about interpreting the recent comparative analysis results between the Tagrisso monotherapy group and the Rybrevant monotherapy group from the Mariposa clinical trial he presented at the World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC). He said, "Tagrisso was the control group, but Rybrevant was the exploratory group. The simple numerical differences between them are meaningless, and the term I used in my presentation was 'no difference,'" warning against arbitrary interpretations. Regarding the significance of the FLAURA2 and Mariposa regimens, he said, "The goal is not to completely replace or switch treatments but to increase options," adding, "The academic community should discuss the position of each regimen in line with the ultimate goal of curing cancer."

In addition to these regimens, AZ plans to enable the use of Tagrisso throughout the entire lung cancer treatment process, including the recently FDA-approved 'LAURA' regimen for unresectable stage III lung cancer patients. Furthermore, by combining immuno-oncology drug Imfinzi and antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) Enhertu, AZ aims to increase the five-year survival rate of lung cancer patients, currently at about 20%, to over 80%.

At the Tagrisso press conference held on the 11th at The Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, Sim Boram, Executive Director of the Oncology Business Division at Korea AstraZeneca, is making a presentation.
[Photo by Lee Chunhee]

Currently, Tagrisso also holds an advantage over competing drugs in the actual market. In Korea, although Rybrevant and Tagrisso both received health insurance reimbursement as first-line treatments in January, Korea AZ emphasized that Tagrisso maintains an overwhelming gap. Executive Director Shim said, "According to IQVIA data, Tagrisso held a 69% market share in the treatment market in the second quarter of this year, while Rybrevant had 31%. In the overall treatment market, other drugs previously had the highest share, but now Tagrisso leads with 41%," he emphasized.

Regarding Rybrevant's higher drug price compared to Tagrisso in the U.S. market, he explained that Tagrisso's price advantage is actually significant. In the U.S., Rybrevant costs $216,000 annually (about 300 million KRW), higher than Tagrisso's $204,000 (about 270 million KRW). Rybrevant is only approved in the U.S. as combination therapy with Libtrivant. Libtrivant's annual cost is $300,000 (about 400 million KRW), making the total annual treatment cost approximately 700 million KRW. Executive Director Shim said, "The chemotherapy combined with Tagrisso in the FLAURA2 regimen is already off-patent and inexpensive," adding, "Tagrisso's price is more advantageous."