General hospitals to prescribe obesity drug Qsymia

Severance and Asan passes the obesity drug’s prescription code

Joining forces with Chong Kun Dang is starting to pay off

Gaining popularity in the obesity treatment market, Qsymia has entered its prescription code in Korean general hospitals.

 

According to pharmaceutical industry, Qsymia (phentermine hydrochloride plus topiramate), co-marketed by Alvogen Korea and Chong Kun Dang, has been recently passed by Drug Committees at the Big Fives including Severance Hospital and Seoul Asan Medical Center and other major institutes like Korea University Anam Hospital and Ajou University Hospital.

 

Qsymia is available in four doses (3.75 mg/ 23 mg, 7.5 mg/ 46 mg, 11.25 mg/ 69mg, and 15mg/ 92mg) at a price of 4,000 won.

 

The daily costs of Belviq, Contrav and Qsymia are about the same in Korea and the U.S.

 

A clinical study on the drug has found Qsymia, compared to other FDA-approved long-term prescribed obesity treatments, demonstrated the most effective weight loss benefit and confirmed safety profile better than Saxenda and Contrav.

 

The study conducted a retrospective meta-analysis on five weight loss medications, which analyzed 28 randomized clinical trials with 29,018 participants.

 

Qsymia showed the highest efficacy in losing more than 5 percent of a person’s body weight, which Saxenda, Contrav, Belviq and Xenical followed after in the order.

 

54 percent, 34 percent, 30 percent, 25 percent and 20 percent of participants who were administered with Qsymia, Saxenda, Contrav, Belviq and Xenical, respectively, lost more than 10 percent of their body weight.

 

Saxenda and Contrav had the highest risk of adverse reaction, while Belviq had the lowest.

 

Qsymia’s risk in adverse reaction was about in the middle between Saxenda and Belviq.

 

According to data published by UBIST, 310 million won and 614 million won worth of Qsymia were prescribed in last January and February, respectively.

 

The drug’s prescription volume in February followed after Saxenda (875 million won), Dietamin (847 million won) and Hutermin (780 million won) in the market.