Recorded $830 million, a 79.3% increase compared to the previous quarter... Exceeded the entire sales in the first half of the year in one quarter
September SC sales in the US accounted for 15.8%... Faster market penetration compared to existing immunotherapy drugs
Expansion of global sales of ALT-B4 applied products... Expand revenue generation based on product sales
MSD’s ‘Keytruda Curex’, which applied Alteogen’s (196170) subcutaneous injection (SC) formulation change technology, recorded sales of $830 million (approximately KRW 1.1 trillion) in the third quarter of this year. It was a 79.3% increase from the previous quarter, exceeding the entire sales in the first half of the year in just one quarter. As the transition from existing intravenous (IV) injections to subcutaneous injections expands, Alteogen is also expecting an increase in profits based on product sales.
[Data = Provided by Alteogen]
Alteogen (CEO Jeon Tae-yeon) announced this on the 30th, citing the performance announced by MSD on the 29th (local time). Sales of Keytruda Curex increased from $463 million in the second quarter to $830 million in the third quarter. As of the third quarter of this year, cumulative sales were recorded at $1.42 billion (approximately 1.9 trillion won). Approximately one year after approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September of last year, annualized sales in the third quarter exceeded 4 trillion won.
Keytruda Curex is a subcutaneous injection formulation that applies Alteogen’s recombinant human hyaluronidase ‘ALT-B4’ to MSD’s immunotherapy drug Keytruda. It was developed to increase the convenience of administration of existing intravenous treatments.
According to Alteogen, Curex's share of the total estimated sales of Keytruda in the U.S. in September this year reached 15.8%. This is an achievement about a year after its launch in the United States. In the comparative data presented by the company, the subcutaneous injection conversion rates for Opdivo and Tecentriq in the United States were 10.6% at 15 months and 4.9% at 18 months after launch, respectively.
When announcing its second quarter earnings, MSD announced that Curex already accounts for a double-digit share of total Keytruda sales in the United States. The goal of achieving a SC conversion rate of 30-40% within two years of launch was also presented. Alteogen explained that MSD reaffirmed its positive stance on achieving this goal in this third quarter performance.
A short administration time is cited as a factor supporting the conversion. Keytruda Curex can be injected subcutaneously within about 1 minute every 3 weeks or about 2 minutes every 6 weeks, depending on the administration cycle. By reducing the administration time compared to the existing intravenous injection, which takes about 30 minutes, it can improve patient convenience and the treatment operation efficiency of medical institutions.
Keytruda is an immunotherapy agent that targets PD-1 and is used alone and in combination therapy for various cancer indications. MSD is pursuing a transition to a subcutaneous injection formulation, focusing on monotherapy, combination use of oral anticancer drugs, and adjuvant therapy after surgery.
Alteogen is also generating profits due to increased product sales. Alteogen previously received the first sales milestone of $25 million based on Keytruda Curex sales. This is the first achievement among a total of $1 billion in sales milestones included in the licensing agreement signed with MSD. The company expects that as global sales increase, revenue generation based on commercialization will expand in addition to technology exports and performance in the development stage.
Alteogen is expanding its partnerships with global pharmaceutical companies based on the ‘Hybrozyme’ platform, a proprietary hyaluronidase-based subcutaneous injection formulation change technology.
