● SK chemicals’ Shingles Vaccine SKYZoster Penetrates Market,50% Market Share Expected within Launch Year
- Sales expected to exceed \8 billion within two months of launch Goal of 50%
market share in 2018
- 2,000 industry professionals gathered at symposiums held in seven cities nationwide
SKYZoster, Korea＇s first and world＇s second herpes zoster vaccine, is rapidly gaining traction in the market. Capitalizing on the initial momentum, SK chemicals plans to increase its market share to 50% by the end of the year.
SK chemicals announced on the 20th that cumulative domestic sales exceeded \5 billion for SKYZoster, the company＇s proprietary herpes zoster (commonly known as ＇shingles＇) vaccine, as of the 2nd week of February. SK chemicals expects cumulative sales to exceed \8 billion by the end of this month, just two months after launch.
Due to the increasing product demand from clinics and supply promotion to general hospitals, SK chemicals has been running their plant at 100% capacity. Continuing the current trend, the company aims to achieve a market share of 50% in the first year of the vaccine＇s launch. The domestic shingles vaccine market is growing rapidly every year, and the industry expects the market to grow to more than \100 billion this year.
High interest in SKYZoster was prevalent at recent symposiums organized to introduce the vaccine to medical professionals in Korea.
SK chemicals held the SKYZoster Launch Symposium, touring seven cities nationwide, for nearly a month from the 16th of January until the 8th of February. With approximately 2,000 industry professionals in attendance, the events covered various aspects of the disease, as well as the characteristics and clinical trial results of SKYZoster.
"The number of patients suffering from herpes zoster in Korea and the cost of treatment are continuously rising," said Professor Hui-jin Jeong of Korea University Guro Hospital, the topic presenter at the symposium. "SKYZoster has demonstrated its non-inferiority in immunogenicity and safety against existing vaccines through Phase III trials."
One medical professional in attendance stated, "[The symposium] was a great opportunity for improving the overall understanding of the herpes zoster disease and its pathogenesis." He added, "The symposium has raised the level of understanding and confidence in SKYZoster and lessened concerns regarding vaccine supply."
"There are more than 11 million potential patients in Korea alone who require a shingles vaccine," said Jae-yong An of SK chemicals＇ vaccine division. "We will contribute to the health of people nationwide through a stable supply of SKYZoster to the market, which has traditionally suffered from unsteady supply."
#Photo: Professor Hui-jin Jeong of Korea University Guro Hospital presenting clinical results at the SKYZoster Launch Symposium held at InterContinental Seoul Coex on Feb. 8th.