Samsung Bioepis said Monday that the company has signed a marketing partnership with Yuhan to launch its adalimumab biosimilar Adalloce.

Adalloce is a pen type biosimilar of Humira, used in treating active autoimmune and inflammatory conditions such as rheumatism, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The drug was launched as Imraldi in European countries in 2018 and posted a cumulative $417 million in sales as of last year.

In South Korea, Samsung Bioepis will launch the adalimumab biosimilar during the first half this year, together with Korean pharma company Yuhan.

Yuhan previously cooperated with Samsung Bioepis in domestic sales of the Enbrel biosimilar Etoloce and the Remicade biosimilar Remaloce.

“Samsung Bioepis is pleased to announce the launch of a biosimilar product of the most widely used drug (Humira),” said Ko Han-sung, Samsung Bioepis CEO.

With the launch of its adalimumab biosimilar, Samsung Bioepis would become responsible for the domestic sales of three different types of biosimilars developed based on the blockbuster anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha drugs: Humira, Remicade and Enbrel.

The market for those three biosimilars in South Korea is estimated at around 200 billion won ($176 million), according to Samsung Bioepis.

Samsung Bioepis added that it plans to launch its adalimumab biosimilar Hadlima -- the product name of the same adalimumab biosimilar for the US market -- in July, 2023.

Hadlima received an approval from the US Food and Drug Administration in 2019, but the launch has been scheduled in 2023 due to its licensing agreement with AbbVie.

AbbVie granted a nonexclusive license to Samsung Bioepis regarding AbbVie’s intellectual property relating to Humira.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)