Hanmi re-launches osteoarthritis injection treatment in US

Hanmi Pharmaceutical said that it has started marketing SynoJoynt, an osteoarthritis injection treatment, with Arthrex, a global medical device company, in the U.S.

Hanmi Pharmaceutical has re-launched its osteoarthritis injection treatment, Hyalrheuma, under a new brand name, SynoJoynt, in the U.S.

The treatment, also known as Hyalrheuma in Korea, is a high-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid product produced by Hanmi using its advanced fermentation technology.

The company received U.S. marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2018, after conducting a phase 3 clinical trial on 600 U.S. patients and completing an inspection from the FDA for its Pyeongtaek Bio Plant.

After FDA approval, Hanmi Pharm entered the U.S. market by signing a contract with Teva. However, to further accelerate SynoJoynt success, the company ended its partnership with Teva and joined hands with Arthrex, which has strength in orthopedic surgery.

Arthrex has a strong sales network in orthopedic surgery and distributes 13,000 types of medical device products.

“We officially received sales approval for the product in 2018 and entered into a partnership with Teva, but failed to record meaningful sales,” a company official said to Korea Biomedical Review. “Therefore, we terminated the contract with Teva and re-launched the product under a new name by entering into a partnership with Arthrex.”

The two companies plan to work closely together to market the drug in the U.S. market successfully. Hanmi supplies the finished products manufactured at its Pyeongtaek Bio Plant and Arthrex, taking charge of marketing, sales, and sales.

“We will do our best to grow SynoJoynt into a successful product in the U.S. market by working closely with our new partner, who has an understanding of the U.S. market and a strong local sales network,” Hanmi Pharmaceutical CEO Woo Jong-soo said.