Dapa N with Forxiga's indication leads the mkt by surprise

SGLT-2i Dapa N's sales KRW 2.5B in Q2…ranking No.1 in the dapagliflozin monotherapy market

Received transfer of indication after withdrawal of Forxiga…will the upward trend continue with expanded reimbursement?

SGLT-2i monotherapy market has expanded 3%...Jardiance and Envlo are leading the market

Product photo of Forxiga and Dapa N

Prescription sales of HK inno.N's 'Dapa N,' which received transfer of Forxiga indications, have surged in the SGLT-2 inhibitor diabetes treatment market.

 

It has risen to the top of the dapagliflozin monotherapy market.

 

Analysis suggests that this success is attributed to Dapa N's transition in indications, including chronic heart failure, following the withdrawal of the former market leader, Forxiga, from the Korean market.

 

With the reimbursement scope for chronic kidney disease recently expanded in the second half of the year, Dapa N's upward trend is expected to continue for some time.

 

HK inno.N's Dapa N Prescription Sales Jump from KRW 300 Million → KRW 2.5 Billion in a Year According to the pharmaceutical market research firm UBIST on August 18, HK inno.N's Dapa N recorded prescription sales of KRW 2.5 billion in Q2, a significant increase from KRW 300 million in the same period last year.

 

Dapa N showed sluggish performance in its early launch, with sales remaining below KRW 500 million for six consecutive quarters after its release in Q2 of 2023.

 

Notably, even after Forxiga's indications were transferred to Dapa N in April of last year, it did not immediately lead to an increase in prescription sales.

 

At that time, AstraZeneca Korea withdrew Forxiga's product approval while simultaneously granting clinical data, thereby transferring Forxiga's indications to Dapa N.

 

Quarterly Prescription Sales Performance by Key Dapagliflozin Monotherapies (unit: KRW 100 million, source: UBIST) Index: RED-HK inno.N

However, an analysis shows that Dapa N's growth has become steep since Q4 of last year.

 

Its prescription sales, which were below KRW 500 million, surged to KRW 1.2 billion in Q4 of last year, KRW 2.3 billion in Q1 of this year, and KRW 2.5 billion in Q2.

 

This is analyzed as a shift in the focus of prescriptions towards Dapa N, as the distribution volume of Forxiga gradually decreased in Korea.

 

After deciding to withdraw Forxiga from Korea at the end of 2023, AstraZeneca Korea halted the supply of new inventory in the second half of last year, only distributing existing stock domestically.

 

Dapa N Leads After Forxiga's Departure… Will Upward Trend Continue with Expanded Reimbursement? During this process, Dapa N became the leader in the dapagliflozin monotherapy market.

 

In Q1, with Forxiga completely withdrawn, Dapa N recorded KRW 2.3 billion in prescription sales, surpassing Boryung's Trudapa (KRW 1.3 billion) to take the lead.

 

In Q2, it further widened the gap with Trudapa.

 

The pharmaceutical industry expects Dapa N's growth momentum to continue for some time, as its reimbursement scope was expanded to include chronic kidney disease last month.

 

As of July 1, the government expanded Dapa N's reimbursement to patients with non-diabetic chronic kidney disease.

 

The conditions for reimbursement are: concurrent administration with other standard kidney disease treatments for patients ▲Who have been stably treated with an ACE inhibitor or Angiotensin II receptor blocker at the maximum tolerated dose for at least 4 weeks ▲Who have an eGFR of 20–75ml/min/1.73㎡ ▲Who have a positive urine dipstick test (1+ or more) or a uACR of 200mg/g or more.

 

The key factor is the performance of other dapagliflozin monotherapies.

 

The fact that the reimbursement scope for 15 products from 9 pharmaceutical companies has become identical to Dapa N's since last month is expected to be a significant factor.

 

Previously, Dapa N was the only one to hold indications for chronic heart failure and chronic kidney disease, in addition to diabetes.

 

Starting last month, products from 9 companies, including ▲Boryung's Trudapa ▲Hanmi Pharmaceutical's Daparon ▲KyungDong Pharmaceutical's Dapajin ▲Chong Kun Dang's Exiglu ▲Daewon Pharmaceutical's Dapawon ▲Dong-A ST's Dapapro ▲Samik Pharmaceutical's Difaglu ▲Daewoong Bio's Forxidapa ▲Nex Pharm Korea's Floga, now have the same indications as Dapa N.

 

SGLT-2i Monotherapy Market Has Expanded 3%...Jardiance 25%↑·Envlo 16%↑ The SGLT-2 inhibitor monotherapy market, including Dapa N, grew by 3% from KRW 40.5 billion in Q2 of last year to KRW 41.8 billion in Q2 of this year.

 

Boehringer Ingelheim's Jardiance (empagliflozin) and Daewoong Pharmaceutical's Envlo (inavogliflozin) performed well.

 

Jardiance's prescription sales increased by 25% over one year, rising from KRW 16.1 billion to KRW 20.1 billion.

 

Envlo's sales increased by 16% in the same period, from KRW 2.5 billion to KRW 2.9 billion.

 

It appears that the market gap left by Forxiga has been filled by Jardiance, Envlo, and Forxiga's generics.

 

Quarterly Prescription Sales Performance by Key Dapagliflozin Monotherapies (unit: KRW 100 million, source: UBIST) Index: BLUE-AstraZeneca

This market is expected to shift again in October of this year when Jardiance's substance patent expires.

 

Currently, around 50 pharmaceutical companies have received approval for Jardiance generics and are ready for launch.

 

The industry anticipates a repeat of the fierce generic competition in the diabetes treatment market.