As Korea enters an aged society, the social and economic burden due to the increase in medical expenses is increasing. Last year, medical expenses for the elderly (aged 65 and older) amounted to 41,382.9 billion won, accounting for 43.4% of the total medical expenses.
The importance of strengthening adult vaccination to cope with an aging society is increasing. Experts point out that it is necessary to expand vaccination against shingles, Japanese encephalitis, whooping cough, pneumococcal, measles, and hepatitis A to cope with the aging population and the increase in chronic diseases.
Shingles is considered one of the most common diseases associated with aging. Shingles is characterized by the appearance of a band-shaped rash and characteristic blistering lesions on the skin within a few days of onset, accompanied by severe pain. A bigger problem is postherpetic neuralgia. If not vaccinated or not treated properly, you may be more likely to progress to postherpetic neuralgia.
The reason why prophylactic vaccination is recommended to prevent the occurrence of shingles and reduce the risk of sequelae after onset is that it can reduce the risk of occurrence by more than half, and even if it does occur, it helps to reduce pain and major complications. In addition, as a result of a research team led by Professor Won-Seok Choi of the Department of Infectious Diseases, Korea University School of Medicine, free live shingles vaccine for the elderly over 65 years of age was found to be cost-effective. As a result, major developed countries such as the UK, Germany, Canada and Australia have included the shingles vaccine in their national mandatory vaccinations. As a consensus was formed on the need for a shingles vaccine in Korea, the number of local governments supporting shingles vaccine increased from only two in 2017 to about 60 in 2019.
Currently, shingles vaccines available in Korea include MSD’s Zostavax and SK Bioscience’s Skyzoster. GSK’s Shingrix will also land in Korea. With a three-way battle expected, Skyzoster, a domestic vaccine, is expanding its presence in the market. Sky Zoster’s sales in the first half of the year were KRW 8.8 billion, up 6.7% from the previous year. In the second quarter of last year, the total market share was 43.4%, recording the largest market share ever since its release.
As a result of the recent post-marketing investigation by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, it is known that no ‘serious adverse events after administration’ of Skyzoster have occurred. As these safety results are announced, experts predict that it will be able to lead the market share stably.