SK Chemicals Signs Joint Sales Agreement with Viatris to Expand Pain Treatment Lineup

Hyunseon Park, Head of Pharma Business at SK Chemicals (right), and Bill Schuster, CEO of Viatris Korea (left), are taking a commemorative photo after signing the contract. Photo by SK Chemicals

SK Chemicals, which developed 'Joins Tablet,' the first domestic natural product drug for osteoarthritis treatment, has additionally secured a portfolio of pain relief medications.

On the 5th, SK Chemicals announced that it signed a distribution and sales agreement with Viatris Korea for the peripheral and central neuropathic pain treatment 'Lyrica,' the neuropathic pain treatment 'Neurontin,' and the anti-inflammatory analgesic 'Celebrex.'

According to the agreement, SK Chemicals will be responsible for distribution to all hospitals and marketing to clinics and hospitals with fewer than 300 beds for the three drugs. Marketing to general hospitals with 300 or more beds will be handled by Viatris Korea. These three drugs have been confirmed for efficacy and safety through various clinical studies.

With the full-scale distribution and sales of Viatris products through this contract, synergy with existing products such as Joins and Ultraset is expected to be maximized, further strengthening SK Chemicals' position in the pain treatment sector.

SK Chemicals expects a mutual enhancement effect among products, as Joins, a representative osteoarthritis treatment, and Ultraset, a non-narcotic anti-inflammatory analgesic exclusively sold by SK Chemicals, are actively used in combination therapy with the three Viatris products.

Park Hyun-sun, Head of SK Chemicals' Pharma Business, stated, "By introducing Lyrica, Neurontin, and Celebrex, we will be able to provide patients and medical professionals with more diverse and effective pain treatment options. We will continue to secure new pipelines closely linked to our existing business and strengthen our expertise in specialized markets such as pain treatment."