It is an analysis that the market penetration has entered the visible range as the initial supply of goods has been made within a month after acquiring the Japanese item license in January.
Hunterase ICV is a treatment in which a device is inserted into the head and the drug is administered directly to the ventricle.
The existing intravenous formulation of drugs could not pass through the blood brain barrier (BBB) and thus could not reach the cerebral parenchyma.
The company expects that the sales of Hunterase ICV will be in full swing in Japan as early as two quarters.
As the Japan Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) is currently in the process of listing insurance drug prices, once the drug price is confirmed and notified, it is expected to be officially released and prescribed in the actual medical field.
Earlier last month, IV-based Hunterase (product name Hai Rui Tsu, Hai芮思®) was also shipped to China for the first time. In China, in September of last year, Hunterase was approved as the first treatment for Hunter syndrome in China, and is currently undergoing drug price listing procedures.
An official from GC Green Cross said, “The related process is rapidly progressing so that Hunterase can be used by patients as a new treatment option. We will prepare for further production and supply plans to Japan and China in the future,” he said.
On the other hand, Hunter syndrome is a rare congenital disease in which skeletal abnormalities and decreased intelligence occur due to deficiency of IDS (Iduronate-2-sulfatase) enzyme. In general, it is known that it occurs at a rate of 1 in 100,000 to 150,000 male children, and the number of severely ill patients with central nerve damage accounts for 70% of all Hunter syndrome patients.