'Saxenda' continues to dominate weight-loss market

KRW 15.9 billion sales of Saxenda in Q1… 53% increase compared to the same period last year

Qsymia, 21% increase to KRW 7.7 billion... 'non-face-to-face treatment pilot project' a variable

Wegovy and Mounjaro's impending release... out of stock in the North American market

Product Photos of Saxenda (LT) and Qsymia (RT)

'Saxenda (Liraglutide)' is further strengthening its dominance in the obesity treatment market.

 

In the first quarter, it recorded sales of KRW 15.9 billion, 53% increase from the previous year, more than doubling the gap with the runner-up product, 'Qsymia (Phentermine+Topiramate).' However, it remains to be seen how much longer Saxenda's dominance will last, as release of promising products such as 'Wegovy (Semaglutide)' and 'Mounjaro (Tirzepatide)' are imminent in the obesity treatment market.

 

The pharmaceutical industry predicts that the two products which have proven their marketability in the global market will be released in Korea as early as this year.

 

Saxenda grows 53% in 1 year...

 

more than doubles the gap with Qsymia According to IQVIA, a pharmaceutical market research institute, on the 5th, Novo Nordisk's Saxenda recorded sales of KRW 15.9 billion in the first quarter.

 

This is a 53% increase in 1 year, compared to KRW 10.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022.

 

Saxenda is the world's first obesity treatment approved as a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog.

 

It has the same ingredients as the type-2 diabetes treatment 'Victoza,' but with different usage and dosage.

 

Saxenda has grown rapidly since its domestic release in the second quarter of 2018.

 

In 2019, the second year after its release, Saxenda dominated the obesity treatment market with sales of KRW 42.6 billion.

 

Saxenda, unlike existing obesity treatments, is not a psychotropic drug, and therefore gained explosive popularity because it is relatively safe and can be taken over a long period.

 

The sales of Saxenda have somewhat slowed down due to the impact of COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021.

 

However, as outdoor activities have become revitalized again from last year, demand for obesity treatments regained its place, and Saxenda's sales soared up to KRW 58.9 billion.

 

Quarterly Sales of Saxenda and Qsymia (Unit: 100 million won, Data: IQVIA)

Qsymia, the runner-up product in the market, marked sales of KRW 7.7 billion in the first quarter.

 

Compared to KRW 6.3 billion in the first quarter of last year, sales has increased by 21%.

 

It is analyzed that Qsymia was also affected by the recovery of the obesity treatment market.

 

Qsymia is a combination drug of 'Phentermine' and 'Topiramate,' which Alvogen Korea secured domestic sales right from the US pharmaceutical company Vivus in 2017.

 

Alvogen Korea started domestic sales with Chong Kun Dang at the end of 2019.

 

In addition to the advantage that the content of psychotropic ingredient is relatively low even though it is an oral drug, Chong Kun Dang's sales power generated synergy and quickly penetrated the market despite being a latecomer.

 

However, the gap with Saxenda has widened.

 

Although Qsymia chased Saxenda's sales up to about 90% with KRW 5.9 billion in the first quarter of 2021, the gap is widening again as the obesity treatment market is recovering.

 

In the first quarter of this year, the gap between to two products widened by 2.4 times.

 

Some in the pharmaceutical industry predicts that the gap between the two products will widen further in the future.

 

This is because obesity treatments containing Phentermine and Phendimetrazine, including Qsymia, were included in the 'list of narcotics and drugs of concern for misuse and abuse' as the non-face-to-face treatment pilot project was implemented.

 

The government urged caution in prescibing psychotropic drugs such as Qsymia through non-face-to-face treatment.

 

Saxenda has not been included in the list.

 

In addition, treatments such as Daewoong Pharmaceutical's Dietamin, Korea Prime Pharm's Phendimen, Huons's Hutermin, etc.

 

recorded sales of more than KRW 1 billion in the first quarter.

 

In case of Phendimen, its sales, which recorded just KRW 300 million in the first quarter of last year, increased about 6 times to KRW 1.8 billion in one year, showing remarkable growth.

 

Wegovy and Mounjaro's impending release...

 

Saxenda's domination coming to an end It remains to be seen how much longer Saxenda's dominance will last.

 

Two mega-sized products that have proven their competitiveness in the global market are waiting to be released.

 

In the pharmaceutical industry, the prevailing view is that Saxenda's dominance will come to an end with the advent of next-generation products such as Wegovy and Mounjaro.

 

Product Photos of Wegovy (LT) and Mounjaro (RT)

In April, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approved Novo Nordisk's Wegovy.

 

Wegovy is a GLP-1 analog, just like Saxenda.

 

Novo Nordisk improved its Saxenda, which was administered daily, to weekly administration.

 

In the US market, in which Wegovy was released earlier, demand for the product soared, with shortages occurring.

 

In particular, due to its popularity, shortage of Ozempic, a diabetes treatment with the same ingredients and usage, has also occurred.

 

Even now, there is still a lack of supply of Wegovy in the US.

 

Due to the circumstances, the official release of Wegovy is being delayed in Korea even after product approval.

 

The pharmaceutical industry predicts that domestic supply will be possible at the end of this year or early next year.

 

The domestic release of Eli Lilly's Mounjaro, which is considered a strong competitor of Wegovy, is also imminent.

 

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety recently completed a safety and efficacy review on Mounjaro.

 

Completing the review means that the product approval process will soon begin.

 

Mounjaro is a GLP-1 analog, just like Saxenda and Wegovy.

 

After obtaining approval as a type-2 diabetes treatment, Lilly is trying to expand its indications for obesity.

 

In the case of the Mounjaro, in addition to the mechanism acting on the GLP-1 analog, its mechanism also acts on the glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP).

 

Due to this, Mounjaro's weight loss effect was better than that of Wegovy in each drugs' clinical trials.

 

Lilly also entered a phase 3 clinical trial comparing the effects of Mounjaro and Wegovy on a one-to-one basis.