Eisai Korea’s Aricept (donepezil hydrochloride) continued on its solid lead in the original Alzheimer’s treatment market, occupying nearly 70% of the KRW 100 billion market.

According to drug distribution performance data, Aricept’s made KRW 71 billion, 65.5 billion, 69.2 billion, and 70.3 billion in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively, virtually leading the market ever since its release.

Aricept Evess, an orally disintegrating tablet formulation with the same ingredient that was approved in 2008 has been showing sales in the KRW 6 billion to 9 billion range.

The runner-up in the market, Lundbeck Korea’s Ebixa (memantine hydrochloride), which had maintained blockb