[THE INVESTOR] South Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion has increased its market presence in Europe with biosimilar Remsima, the company said on July 14.

Celltrion’s Remsima -- biosimilar replication of the world’s third best-selling rheumatoid arthritis treatment drug Remicade, or Infliximab -- has captured a 30 percent share of the overall Infliximab market in Europe, according to IMS Health, a market data provider. 

The latecomer Remsima began selling in Europe in August 2013 after approval from the European Medicines Agency. Last year, the drug entered Europe’s major markets such as Germany, France, Italy Spain and th eUK.

Nine months after the launch, Remsima took up more than 30 percent of the market share in the UK, Germany and Italy. The biosimilar is especially popular in Scandinavian countries such as Norway and Finland, occupying 90 percent of the market share in each country.

“Many patients who were prescribed the original drug have switched to Remsima,” an official at Celltrion said. “Based on the current trend, Remsima could reach up to 40-50 percent of the European market by end of this year.”

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)