GSK’s herpes zoster vaccine ‘Singrix’ is preparing to launch in earnest in Korea, and sales and marketing for medical staff is in full swing.
It has begun full-scale joint sales with GC Green Cross, with a release expected in December at the earliest. Accordingly, there is a high expectation that it will be established as a new non-paying item in front-line opening houses.
According to the medical community on the 13th, it was confirmed that GSK recently started promoting its products through major medical groups events ahead of the official launch of the herpes zoster vaccine Shingrix, which was approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in the second half of last year.
Singrix is a vaccine used to prevent herpes zoster in adults over the age of 50 and immunocompromised persons over the age of 18. When Singrix is released, it will become the third shingles vaccine in Korea after MSD’s ‘Zostavax’ and SK Bioscience’s ‘Skyzoster’.
In particular, as it shows a prevention rate of over 90% for all age groups over 50, the prevailing opinion is that the release of SYNGRIX will shake the domestic shingles vaccine market.
However, the domestic shingles vaccine market has declined sharply with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. According to IQVIA, a pharmaceutical research institute, MSD Zostavax’s sales last year were 27 billion won, down more than half from 83.7 billion won in 2017. In the first half of this year, it only posted 11.6 billion won in sales.
SK Bioscience’s Skyzoster also had to be satisfied with sales of 8.8 billion won in the first half of this year, following sales of 18.2 billion won last year.
Amid the overall stagnation of the shingles market in hospitals and clinics, Syngrix is expected to be launched in earnest in December. It has already started planning a product briefing session for major medical groups and promoting the vaccine.
Moreover, active sales and marketing in the shingles market are expected as ‘GC Green Cross’ and GSK, the strong players in the domestic vaccine market, joined hands.
An executive from the Korean Society of Family Medicine, who requested anonymity, said, “We have not yet received a specific release schedule for Syngrix, but we are hearing about the plan through a symposium event at major academic conferences.” “he mentioned.
Here, as the launch of SYNGRIX enters the countdown, the clinical field is paying attention to the vaccine ‘buy price’. In this regard, based on the GSK official website, the price of a single dose of Singrix is set at about $162, which is about 190,000 won.
Considering that Shingrix needs to be vaccinated twice based on this price, it is expected that the cost to be borne by the patient will be set in the range of 300,000 to 400,000 won.
Since it is a two-dose vaccine, if hospitals and clinics usually vaccinate in the form of a ‘package’, the price of the vaccination may come down to a certain extent, but the prevailing prediction is that the price will be around 350,000 won for the second dose. In the end, the purchase price is also expected to be set at around 150,000 won per dose considering the inoculation price.
An otolaryngologist in Seoul, who requested anonymity, said, “I know that a product briefing session related to Syngrix is planned from the end of this month, but the purchase price does not seem to have been released yet. “he said.
An executive from the Korean Society of Otolaryngology and Throatology also said, “Considering that Zostavax is usually vaccinated at a maximum of 200,000 won at the opening price, it is likely that the inoculation price will be around 300,000 won. It is noteworthy in a situation where it is established as a shingles vaccine market. Ultimately, the shingles vaccine market is likely to change depending on sales and marketing.”
He said, “It is true that medical institutions have a lot of interest in Syngrix.
Meanwhile, GSK and GC Green Cross will soon formalize the joint sale of Syngrix, and it is reported that they are planning to launch it for medical institutions from December.