Celltrion, a South Korean pharmaceutical company developing biosimilars, submitted a request to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for approval to sell Herzuma, the company spokesperson said Wednesday.

Herzuma, also known as CT-P6, references the blockbuster breast cancer drug Herceptin by Genentech, and is used for treatment of metastatic breast cancer and early stage breast cancer.

Partnering with Japanese pharma firm Nippon Kayaku, Celltrion is aiming to introduce Herzuma to the Japanese drug market in 2018. The market size of the original drug in Japan is estimated to be around 450 billion won ($393 million).

Celltrion has been commercializing Remsima, the company’s biosimilar drug for rheumatoid arthritis, through Nippon Kayaku since November 2014. Nippon Kayaku currently has marketing rights for both Remsima and Herzuma in Japan.

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