Big 5 pass Qsymia powered by Alvogen-CKD co-marketing

SNUH, Severance, Samsung and Asan DC land Qsymia code, St. Mary’s in process

Saxenda injection leads the market but the oral option to expand in the market fast

The Big Five general hospitals have cleared the prescription of Qsymia speedily widening its brand awareness within the obesity treatment market.

 

According to pharmaceutical industry sources, the drug committees at Big Five hospitals like Seoul National University Hospital, Severance Hospital, Samsung Seoul Medical Center and Seoul Asan Medical Center have reviewed and approved the prescription of Qsymia supplied by Alvogen and its Korean co-marketing partner Chong Kun Dang.

 

Seoul St.

 

Mary's Hospital is also in the process of reviewing the drug.

 

The prescription code has been landed in Korea University Anam Hospital, Ajou University Hospital and other major hospitals around the country.

 

Qsymia can be prescribed in four different doses—3.75 mg/ 23 mg, 7.5 mg/ 46 mg, 11.25 mg/ 69 mg and 15 mg/ 92 mg—and their pricing have been fixed to 4,000 won per tablet.

 

Belviq, Contrave and Qsymia’s cost per day are about the same in Korea and the U.S.

 

A clinical study on Qsymia found the drug demonstrates the most superior effect in weight loss among the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved long-term obesity treatments, and shows better safety than Saxenda or Contrave.

 

The retrospective meta-analysis study comparing five drugs have reviewed 28 randomized clinical studies on 29,018 patients.

 

Qsymia showed the best weight loss effect in losing over five percent of body weight, and Saxenda, Contrave, Belviq and Xenical followed in the order.

 

The distribution of the drug effect in patients who have lost over 10 percent was also led by Qsymia (54 percent) and followed Saxenda (34 percent), Contrave (30 percent), Belviq (25 percent) and Xenical (20 percent).

 

Saxenda and Contrave had the highest risk of halting the administration due to adverse reaction, whereas Belviq had the lowest.

 

Qsymia’s level of risk was around the mid-way between Saxenda and Belviq.

 

In just three months after the release, Qsymia generated 4.3 billion won in a quarter and seconded the obesity treatment market in Korea.

 

The sales gap between Qsymia and Saxenda are only 1.6 billion won.

 

The drug has already doubled the sales of Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s Dietamin, which has been tailgating after Saxenda until the fourth quarter last year.

 

Qsymia is a phentermine plus topiramate combination drug developed by the U.S.-based Vivus, and Alvogen signed a deal in 2017 to supply the drug to Korea.

 

Alvogen then inked a co-marketing deal with Chong Kun Dang in last year, and fully initiated the sales and marketing activities from early this year.

 

Alvogen, with experience in obesity treatment sales like Furing and Furimin, have generated a synergy effect with Chong Kun Dang’s sales power for the obesity treatment to quickly take up the market.

 

A pharmaceutical market research firm UBIST found Qsymia has made 310 million won and 614 million won in last January and February, respectively, and placed itself on the leader board following Saxenda (875 million won), Dietamin (847 million won) and Hutermin (780 million won) as of February.