Handok Inc. and Teva-Handok held an agreement ceremony on the October 26 at the Handok Inc. main office for joint sales of Teva-Handok’s respiratory therapies in Korea.

According to the agreement, the two companies will jointly sell respiratory therapies, such as Handok Inc.’s Asthma and COPD treatment “Duorespi Spiromax” and a new treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma, “Cinqair Inj.” Handok Inc. will be in charge of general hospitals and clinics, while Handok Inc. and Teva-Handok will be jointly in charge of sales and marketing.

Duorespi Spiromax, an asthma and COPD treatment jointly marketed by Handok Inc. and Teva-Handok (key ingredients: budesonide, formoterol fumarate hydrochloride) combines effective ingredients and an inhaler providing increased usability to improve intake compliance. The Spiromax inhaler uses Teva’s proprietary technology to ensure that the correct dosage is administered when patients open the lid of the inhaler. The technology also ensures that a fixed dosage is delivered to older patients or patients having difficulty breathing.

“Cinqair Inj.” (ingredient name: reslizumab) is an IgG4 kappa-type of new drug targeting interleukin-5, a cytokine that regulates maturation, survival and activity of eosinophils, and it suppresses the increase of the number of eosinophil in blood, which is a risk factor for asthma exacerbation. With the license received in September this year, “Cinqair Inj.” can now be used as an additional therapy for adult patients with a history of severe eosinophilic asthma (the number of eosinophilia in blood at the beginning of therapy: higher than 400 cells/㎕) that has not been adequately treated by a conventional therapy.