[THE INVESTOR] Celltrion has entered the final stage to introduce its biosimilar Remsima to the US following a favorable verdict from a US federal court in a patent infringement suit with Janssen Biotech, it announced Aug. 19.




The South Korean biopharmaceutical company has commenced shipment for the replica of Janssen’s Remicade, a rheumatic arthritis and autoimmune disease treatment, to accelerate the release of the drug in the US, the largest biologics market in the world.

Celltrion and its sales partner Pfizer have been planning to launch Remsima as early as October, particularly after the US Food and Drug Administration’s approval in April.

The original drug has an estimated 12 trillion won (US$10.75 billion) annual sales volume, and the US accounts for half of the market. JP Morgan estimated that Remicade’s sales will decrease by US$1 billion in 2017 in the US market.

By Hwang You-mee (glamazon@heraldcorp.com)