Samsung Bioepis said Thursday that it has launched Ontruzant (Ingredient: trastuzumab), a biosimilar for breast and gastric cancer, in the United States.

Ontruzant is a biosimilar of Herceptin developed by Genentech and distributed by the multinational pharmaceutical company, Roche. Herceptin scored sales of 7.2 trillion won ($5.9 billion) globally, and the U.S. market accounts for 45 percent of the total.

Samsung Bioepis’ biosimilar Ontruzant that treats breast and gastric cancer

Global pharmaceutical firm Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD) began distributing the Ontruzant that references biologic medicine Herceptin in the world's largest pharmaceutical market. Samsung Bioepis plans to infiltrate in the U.S. market by selling Ontruzant at a 15 percent lower price than that of Herceptin.

Samsung Bioepis said it won the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval in January last year and signed a license contract with Genentech after settling a patent dispute in July.

"We expect Ontruzant will help patients benefit from the proven treatment with eased access to high-quality medication at a reasonable price." Samsung Bioepis CEO Ko Han-sung said.

Ontruzant is the second biosimilar Samsung Bioepis has introduced to the U.S. market. The first one was a Renflexis, a biosimilar of Jansen's Remicade, which treats autoimmune disease.

The Korean company is also preparing to launch other biosimilars, including Eticovo and Hadlima, for rheumatoid after winning nods from the FDA.

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