Samsung Bioepis biosimilars Imraldi (adalimumab) and Benepali (etanercept) dominate the European market and are expected to soon make up for R&D expenditures.

According to Samsung Bioepis on Tuesday, Imraldi, its biosimilar referencing AbbVie’s blockbuster drug Humira, dominated the largest 46 percent share in the European adalimumab biosimilar market based on data released by global health research firm IQVIA.

Samsung Bioepis’ Imraldi has maintained its top position for the past six months in Europe despite fierce competition with other Humira copycat drugs developed by Amgen, Sandoz and Mylan and simultaneously launched in October last year.

Imraldi is the third anti-TNF biosimilar to treat auto-immune diseases developed by Samsung Bioepis. It was approved last October in Europe, following Benepali. It commanded a 6.6 percent share in the entire global adalimumab market, including blockbuster Humira, for the first three months this year, and its cumulative sales reached $52.4 million in the first quarter ended March.

Benepali sales also have climbed to account for 40 percent of the etanercept market in Europe and even 45 percent in the top five markets of Germany, the U.K., France, Italy and Spain, according to Samsung Bioepis.

Benepali, a biosimilar referencing Amgen’s Enbrel, is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. It is the first Enbrel biosimilar launched in Europe, and its cumulative sales reached $108 million in just three years since the launch.

Thanks to the brisk sales of its biosimilars in Europe, Samsung Bioepis that had reported losses for years since its inception swung to profit for the first time in the first three months this year. It expects its bottom line would grow further in the coming quarters.

By Kim Byung-ho and Lee Ha-yeon

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