SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – Celltrion Inc., a major South Korean biopharmaceutical company, said Friday it has launched its biosimilar Avtozma for the treatment of autoimmune diseases in three European countries. “The company aims to rapidly expand its presence in the global autoimmune disease biosimilar market for tocilizumab-based products, leveraging its brand recognition and sales experience in Europe,” a company official said. The global market for Actemra, Avtozma’s reference drug developed by Switzerland’s Roche, was valued at 4.5 trillion won (US$3.14 billion) in 2024. Celltrion has been expanding its global biosimilar portfolio, increasing the number of approved products from six to 11. Celltrion projected its annual operating profit will exceed 1 trillion won for the first time in 2025 on strong sales of flagship biosimilars, such as Remsima SC, Steqeyma, Yuflyma and Vegzelma.