Celltrion's Yuflyma Achieves 24% Market Share in Europe, Up 3 Percentage Points from Previous Quarter

Only a 1 Percentage Point Gap with the Top Product

Celltrion's autoimmune disease treatment 'Yuflyma' (ingredient: adalimumab) continues to show growth in Europe.

Uflyma. Celltrion

According to IQVIA, a pharmaceutical market research firm, as of the first quarter of this year, Yuflyma recorded a 24% market share in Europe, which is a 3 percentage point increase compared to the previous quarter. The gap with the top product is only 1 percentage point.

Particular attention is being drawn to the fact that Yuflyma has overcome the 'first-mover market dominance' formula. Previously, it was expected that Yuflyma would face difficulties in penetrating the market because it was launched in the third quarter of 2021, which was three years later than many other adalimumab biosimilar competitors that entered the European market in the third quarter of 2018.

Celltrion explained that the driving force behind Yuflyma's success was the establishment of a direct sales system in Europe. Yuflyma is Celltrion's second product to be launched through direct sales in Europe, following 'Remsima SC' (ingredient: infliximab). The company was able to leverage its sales experience accumulated by directly selling the Remsima product line in various areas such as bidding, hospital sales, and stakeholder network management.

The fact that Yuflyma shares the same indications as major products also contributed to the expansion of prescriptions, as it allowed Celltrion to actively utilize its already established network of medical professionals. The company mainly targeted the fact that some autoimmune disease patients develop resistance to long-term use of a single formulation and need to switch to another product. Having already established a presence with infliximab formulations, Celltrion was able to supply both infliximab and adalimumab products by adding the latter to its portfolio, thereby creating synergy in treatment switching as well.

Thanks to these strategies, Yuflyma is showing prescription growth across Europe. In Italy, one of the five major EU countries (EU5), Yuflyma achieved a market share of 52%, up 5 percentage points from the previous quarter, surpassing half of all prescriptions. In the United Kingdom, its market share rose by 5 percentage points to reach 33%. In Finland, a key Northern European country, Yuflyma holds a 47% market share, while it has also demonstrated market competitiveness in Portugal (21%) and the Netherlands (20%), among other European regions.

With the expansion of its autoimmune disease portfolio, Yuflyma's growth in Europe is expected to continue. At the end of last year, Celltrion launched 'Stekyma' (ingredient: ustekinumab), and in the second half of this year, the company is preparing to launch 'Aptozma' (ingredient: tocilizumab). As a result, Celltrion will possess all five key first-line treatments for autoimmune diseases in Europe.

A Celltrion representative said, "The fact that Yuflyma has joined the leading group in prescriptions despite being launched three years later than competing products demonstrates that Celltrion's direct sales capabilities have surpassed the advantages of first-mover products. As our portfolio will be further strengthened with the launch of new high-profit products scheduled for the end of this year, we will actively utilize synergies between products to further expand sales of Yuflyma and all our products."