Celltrion Healthcare launched breast cancer and stomach cancer treatment Herzuma in the US market through local partner Teva Pharmaceutical.

The company said Tuesday that Herzuma (trastuzumab) will be 10 percent cheaper than the original Roche drug, Herceptin.

The cost of the drug to US patients will vary depending on their individual insurance plans, Celltrion Healthcare said.

The trastuzumab market in North America was worth 3.8 trillion won ($3 billion won) as of the third quarter of 2019, based on IQVIA data. North America accounts for half the global market.

Celltrion Healthcare said Herzuma, which makes up 18 percent of European prescriptions and 20 percent of Japanese prescriptions, is the preferred drug among medical professionals, and that the company anticipates gaining a competitive edge in the US market.

Meanwhile, the launch of Herzuma in the US completes Celltrion’s trio of major biosimilars in the US.

Celltrion Healthcare launched autoimmune disease treatment Truxima (rituximab), referencing Genentech’s Rituxan, in November 2019.

Before that, in November 2016, the company launched Remsima (infliximab), referencing Johnson & Johnson’s Remicade, in the US.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)