Xian Janssen launches Remicade In China
SHANGHAI – Xian Janssen has launched the TNF inhibitor Remicade (infliximab) in China for use in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, ankyloing spondylitis and Crohn’s disease, the company announced Oct. 16.
“In addition to Remicade, Xian Janssen will also provide a comprehensive service system for patients of rheumatoid arthritis and ankyloing spondylitis,” Xian Janssen President Xie Bingfu said during a launch ceremony. “This will include establishing injection centers in the rheumatoid departments in hospitals, professional training for paramedics and after-sale service for patients.”
Remicade’s two main competitors in the world market are Wyeth/Amgen’s Enbrel (etanercept) and Abbott’s Humira (adalimumab). However, neither of these TNF inhibitors have been approved for use in China.
“Remicade has been available on the Chinese market since Sept. 1,” Xian Janssen’s Remicade Spokeswoman Ding Yanning told PharmAsia News. “It is a biological injection, so it will not be available in pharmacies and is to be used strictly under the instruction of a doctor.”
“Clinical trials for Remicade involved a worldwide multi-center test, so there will be no China-specific study [required] for its launch in China,” added Ding.
Remicade has been used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis for almost ten years in 85 different countries, with over 900,000 patients having received the drug, according to Ding.
“Remicade is given by intravenous infusion, a process that usually takes about two hours,” added Ding. A healthcare professional is needed to administer the treatment in a supervised environment, which is either a physician's office or a treatment center.
“The patient will receive the first dose followed by additional doses at two and six weeks after the first dose and then receive a dose every eight weeks,” Ding said. “Ankyloing spondylitis patients will receive the treatment every six weeks.”
Remicade pricing for China is 6,630 yuan ($884) for 100 mg. Ding declined to discuss the size of the Chinese sales team for the product.
“There is a generic drug, Yisaipu, on the market in China to treat rheumatoid arthritis, but it does not have the same method of action as Remicade and needs to be administered more frequently, and needs more dosage,” said Ding. “Taking the whole cycle of treatment, the price advantage is nullified.”
Yisaipu, a TNF inhibitor, is given by intramuscular infusion, twice a week at the beginning of treatment. The price of Yisaipu is 480 yuan ($64) for 12.5 mg.
“Shanghai CP Goujian Pharmaceutical Co. launched Yisaipu, a similar TNF drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in 2005,” said Zhang Yanyun, a professor in the medical institute at Shanghai Jiaotong University and Shanghai Immunology Institute, who is involved in the research of TNF.
“Yisaipu also has its own patent and was awarded a new technology prize by the Chinese government,” Zhang told PharmAsia News.
Xian Janssen, the largest pharmaceutical joint venture in China, is based in Beijing. It was founded in 1985 as a joint venture between Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceutica and four Chinese state organizations – Pharmaceutical Co. of Shanxi province, Shanxi Hanjiang Pharmaceutical Co., Chinese Pharmaceutical Industry Co. and the Chinese Foreign Trade Medical Corp.
– Dai Jialing
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