The market share of GLP-1 diabetes drug Trulicity is 99%

IQVIA's third quarter sales of ₩11 billion, accumulated sales of ₩30.8 billion

Trulicity

Trulicity, a diabetic treatment administered once a week, continues to dominate in the GLP-1 analog market.

 

Despite the confusion of COVID-19 outbreak, it has set a new quarterly sales record, reaching ₩40 billion in annual sales.

 

It is leading the market expansion by recording a market share of over 99% with only a single item.

 

According to the drug market research agency IQVIA on the 26th, four GLP-1 analogues such as Trulicity (Dulaglutide), Lyxumia (Lixisenatide), Victoza (Liraglutide), and Byetta (Exenatide) in the third quarter made ₩11 billion in sales.

 

This is an increase of 7.8% from ₩10.2 billion in the same period last year.

 

The GLP-1 analog is a drug developed using the hormone GLP-1 (Glucagon-Like Peptide-1), which is involved in the regulation of blood sugar in the body.

 

GLP-1 hormone promotes insulin secretion immediately after a meal, thereby lowering blood sugar, and when blood sugar falls below a certain level, it reduces insulin secretion and helps prevent hypoglycemia.

 

Trulicity, the latest release, virtually ranked the entire market with 99.4% market share.

 

The sales of Trulicity in the third quarter were ₩10.9 billion, a 9.8% increase from ₩10 billion a year earlier.

 

Excluding Trulicity, the quarterly sales of the three items did not reach ₩70 million.

 

The accumulated sales of Trulicity in the third quarter of this year amounted to ₩30.8 billion.

 

Trulicity is the only long-lasting drug administered once a week among GLP-1 analogs on the market.

 

Despite the fact that it was released to the market as the latest among the drugs of the same class in May 2016, sales continued to rise sharply every quarter, increasing its influence in the GLP-1 analog market.

 

It started with ₩1.4 billion in the first year of its launch and exceeded the high of ₩12.2 billion the following year, and the sales in 2018 were ₩27 billion and ₩37.5 billion in 2019, causing a blast.

 

If the current trend continues, annual sales could exceed ₩40 billion.

 

Quarterly sales and Trulicity share of major GLP-1 analogues (Unit: ₩million, %, Source: IQVIA)

Lilly Korea has been conducting joint sales activities with Boryung since the launch of Trulicity.

 

It is with the intent to expand the partnership that has been built up through the anticancer drug GemZar into the area of ​​diabetes.

 

With the synergy between the two companies' partnership, Trulicity accounts for about one-third of Boryung's sales after 4 years of release.

 

The quarterly sales of three GLP-1 analogues such as VIctoza, Byetta, and Lyxumia were around ₩3 billion, but the total market size expanded rapidly after the release of Trulicity.

 

It was 2.5 times larger than ₩4.4 billion in the first quarter of 2016, just before the release of Trulicity.

 

Unlike the existing GLP-1 analogue, which had to be injected once or twice a day due to a fast-acting mechanism, the number of injections was reduced once a week, and the convenience was improved with a pen-type formulation.

 

The fact that the recommended level of GLP-1 analogues was raised in domestic and foreign diabetes treatment guidelines, and that the combination therapy with basal insulin was recognized as a benefit at the end of 2017 also acted as a catalyst for the increase in sales.

 

On the other hand, the GLP-1 analog administered once a day continues to be sluggish.

 

Sanofi's Lyxumia is in the process of withdrawing from the market.

 

Sanofi formalized a plan to withdraw two formulations of Lyxumia earlier this year.

 

The total amount of ₩152 million until the third quarter of this year is the inventory that was previously held by wholesalers.

 

At the time, no specific reason was disclosed, but the fact that the company decided to reduce investment in the diabetes business unit was pointed out as the background for the withdrawal of the permit, as sales decreased rapidly after the emergence of competitive products.

 

AstraZeneca's Byetta has a cumulative sales of ₩2 million this year.

 

Novo Nordisk's Victoza barely exceeded ₩150 million in sales for 9 months.

 

Unlike the obesity treatment Saxenda, which differs only in dosage with the same ingredient, it does not show its presence in the market.

 

As a variable for the GLP-1 analog market in the future, Novo Nordisk's generics can be discussed.

 

Novo Nordisk is in fierce competition with Trulicity in the global market as it obtained the approval of the U.S.

 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the GLP-1 analog Ozempic(Semaglutide) administered once a week at the end of 2017.

 

In September of last year, Rybelsus, which converted Ozempic to oral use, received FDA approval.

 

It is an analysis that the market can be reorganized depending on the timing of the two products being released in Korea.