On February 10, 2022, Handok signed a domestic joint promotion and sales agreement with Sanofi-Aventis Korea (Bae Kyung-eun, CEO) for Renvela, a treatment for hyperphosphatemia, at Handok headquarters in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul.

Handok has been strengthening its competitiveness in the treatment of the human kidney. It has established a specialized marketing and sales organization in this field and has held, since January this year, exclusive domestic sales rights for Mircera, a treatment developed by Roche Korea for chronic renal disease anemia. Handok began holding rights to domestic joint promotion and sales of Renvela in March this year, marking an accelerating expansion of the company’s kidney product portfolio.

Renvela (ingredient name: Sevelamer Carbonate) is a non-calcium-based phosphorus binder that can more effectively control serum phosphorus in people suffering from chronic kidney disease and undergoing dialysis. As it passes through the digestive tract, it binds with phosphorus, which it removes from the body as Renvela is excreted. The fact that it is not absorbed nor accumulates in the blood means the potential for hypercalcemia, an adverse reaction, is minimal.

Clinical experience and research over the past ten years reveals a 46% reduction in mortality and an increase in cost-effectiveness over the existing calcium-based phosphorus binder. Furthermore, Renvela, which comes in both tablet and granular form, provides another option in consideration of the condition of patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis.