S. Korea posts biopharma surplus in 6 years on demand for arthritis biosimilar

South Korea posted a surplus in biopharmaceutical products trade for the first time in six years due to strong demand for a rheumatoid arthritis biosimilar made by the country's copycat drugmaker Celltrion, a government report showed Monday.

Exports of biopharmaceutical products jumped 34 percent from a year earlier to 789.15 million U.S. dollars in 2015, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

Biopharmaceutical imports declined 15.8 percent to 738.22 million dollars last year, sending the trade surplus in the segment to 50.93 million dollars in 2015.

It marked the country's first trade surplus in the biopharma sector since it recorded a surplus of 36.53 million dollars in 2009.

South Korea's biopharma exports continued to grow in the past five years from 260 million dollars in 2011 to 400 million dollars in 2013 to 789.15 million dollars in 2015. Imports in the segment kept a roughly downward trend in the same period.

The surge in exports was mainly attributable to robust overseas demand for Celltrion's biosimilar Remsima, a copycat of Johnson & Johnson's blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis medicine Remicade.

Biosimilars indicate generics for biologic drugs that lost patent protection.

Remsima exports reached 439.32 million dollars in 2015, more than doubling 204.77 million dollars tallied in the previous year. It accounted for 55.7 percent of the total biopharma exports last year.

The Celltrion biomedicine was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April, raising a possibility for the drug's solid overseas sales this year. The South Korean company has insisted on a 30 percent market share in Europe.

Swift replacement of imported botulinum toxin, known as botox, by South Korean products also contributed to the trade surplus, the ministry said.

Imports of botox, which is generally used to be inserted into face to remove wrinkles, tumbled 39 percent in 2015 from a year earlier. Endit