Locally developed drugs are showing robust sales records in gastroesophageal reflux disease treatment market.

Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s Exomezol and Ilyang Pharmaceutical’s Noltec both outperformed Takeda’s Lanston in sales. CJ HealthCare’s K-Cab also jumped up to No. 5 in the sales ranking, recording a turnover of 8 billion won ($6.8 million) only four months after its launch.

From left, Hanmi’s Esomezol, Ilyang’s Noltec and CJ Healthcare’s K-Cab

K-Cab recorded 1.53 billion won in outpatient prescription sales in a single month after the market release in March, according to UBIST data. Its sales skyrocketed to 6.5 billion won in the second quarter.

K-Cab ranked fifth among gastric acid blockers in sales in the second quarter following Nexium (AstraZeneca), Exomezol (Hanmi Pharmaceutical), Noltec (Ilyang Pharmaceutical) and Lanston LFDT (Takeda).

K-Cab drew attention in the market even before its market launch as it is a potassium-competitive acid blocker (P-CAB), a new type of gastroesophageal reflux disease treatment. It has many advantages compared to conventional therapies such as PPI (Proton Pump Inhibitor), such as rapid drug efficacy, inhibition of nighttime gastric acid secretion and ease of taking it regardless of meals.

AstraZeneca’s Nexium is still leading the market but is threatened as the gap with the runner-up is sharply narrowing. This is because Nexium’s sales slightly fell while domestic remedies are on the rise.

Prescription sales of Nexium in the second quarter fell 2.7 percent from a year also, marking 8.8 billion won. In contrast, the prescription sales of Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s Exomezol jumped 17.1 percent to 7.9 billion won over the cited period. The gap between the two products narrowed from 2.4 billion won to 800 million won.

Ilyang Pharmaceutical’s Noltec, the nation’s 14th new drug is also on a steady rise. The drug registered 7.2 billion won in turnover in the April-June period, up 11.1 percent, and ranked at the third place.

On the other hand, Takeda’s Lanston LFDT which used to be second in the market with 7.4 billion won in outpatient prescription sales in the second quarter of 2018, slipped to fourth place with 7.1 billion won this year, down 3.81 percent.

Daewon Pharmaceutical’s Eswonamp, a new modification of Nexium, also surpassed Takeda’s Pantoloc, recording double-digit growth. The prescription sales of Eswonamp in the second three months of this year stood at 3.7 billion won, up 12.94 percent.

Eso Duo, Chong Kun Dang’s improved anti-reflux drug, has successfully settled in the market as well. It marked 1.1 billion won worth of sales in the first quarter following its launch in July last year but doubled the amount in the second quarter.

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