Obesity market surpassed ￦100 billion in 10 years

Last year's market size was ￦134 billion, the largest since the withdrawal of Sibutramine

Saxenda's revenue last year reached ￦42.6 billion, 32% market share

Saxenda

Last year, 'Saxenda', which had gained popularity through going viral with 'Gangnam injection' and 'antiobestic injection', evaluated the domestic obesity treatment market.

 

After 3rd quarterly sales, it gained the top spot, and its market share soared to almost one-third of the entire market.

 

In the wake of the Saxenda, the total market size also recovered to ￦100 billion in 10 years after the withdrawal of Sibutramine.

 

According to the drug research agency IQVIA on the 25th, the market size for obesity drugs last year reached ￦13.4 billion, up 38.6% year-on-year.

 

The appetite suppressant drug, Sibutramine, has exceeded its annual sales of ￦100 billion in 10 years since 2009, immediately before it is evicted due to cardiovascular safety.

 

Saxenda, released in March 2018, stabilized the market, acting as a catalyst for the growth of the domestic obesity treatment market.

 

Saxenda's sales last year rose 465.9% to ￦42.6 billion.

 

The company recorded sales five times higher than the second-largest Dietamin.

 

Yearly market for obesity treatments (Unit: ￦100 million, Source: IQVIA)

Saxenda (Liraglutide 3.0mg) is the world's first anti-obesity drug licensed as a GLP-1 (Glucagon-Like Peptide 1) analog.

 

GLP-1 hormone secreted by the body as a food intake is delivered to the hypothalamus of the brain to reduce hunger and increase satiety to regulate appetite.

 

Saxenda acts the same mechanism as GLP-1 in the body, suppressing appetite and weight loss.

 

It is the same ingredient as 'Victoza' (Liraglutide 1.8mg) prescribed for type II diabetics, but its usage and dosage are different.

 

Saxenda announced its presence with sales of ￦1.7 billion in the third quarter of 2018, and topped the list with sales of ￦5.6 billion in the fourth quarter.

 

At the time, the domestic obesity drug market share exceeded 20% Saxenda has maintained sales of around ￦10 billion every quarter since its quarterly sales exceeded ￦10 billion in the first quarter of 2019.

 

In the third quarter of last year, the market share soared to 33.7%.

 

Saxenda's share in the fourth quarter of last year was 32.7%, down slightly from the previous quarter, but it was still overwhelming.

 

Except for Saxenda, there are no anti-obesity drugs with annual sales of over ￦10 billion.

 

Daewoong Pharm's 'Dietamin', which was second in sales after Saxenda, posted sales of ￦9.5 billion, up 6.2% from last year.

 

Ildong Pharmaceutical's 'Belviq' sales, which had recently been forced to exit the market due to increased cancer risk, fell 13.8% from the previous year to ￦8.5 billion.

 

Huon's Hutermin(￦6.2 billion) and Albogen Korea's Furing (￦5.3 billion) ranked among the top five in the domestic sales of obesity drugs, but their market share was less than 5%.

 

Last year, Guangdong Pharmaceutical 'Contrave', which once attracted interest in the anti-obesity market, sold only ￦3.7 billion.

 

It decreased 11.9% year-on-year.

 

Annual sales and rate of increase and decrease of major domestic obesity drugs (Unit: ￦100 million,%, Source: IQVIA)

In the industry, despite the handicap of Saxenda injections, Victoza, an anti-diabetic drug with the same ingredient, has shown long-term safety early in the market.

 

Victoza demonstrated a 13% lower risk of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction and stroke in a LEADER study involving more than 9,000 people with type II diabetes.

 

This is reflected in the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Drug Administration (EMA) product labels.

 

With the exit of Belviq, it is expected that the power of Saxenda will be further enhanced.

 

However, some people are concerned about the Saxenda’s craze.

 

Drugs that should be administered to obese patients can be injected into young women in their 20s and 30s who want to become thinner, or they can be misused as they are traded on social media services (SNS) without knowing the mechanism, exact dose, and side effects.

 

Quarterly sales trend of major domestic obesity treatments (Unit: ￦100 million, Source: IQVIA)

Prof.

 

Sung Rae Kim (College of Endocrinology, Bucheon St.

 

Mary's Hospital) expressed concern about the Saxenda’s craze in an editorial published in the Korean Journal of Diabetes (J Korean Diabetes 2019; 20: 63-66).

 

Professor Kim said, "In our country, the treatment of obesity is too much for cosmetic purposes regardless of obesity.

 

Some behaviors that require prescription or illegal advertisements without any confirmation or explanation are very worrying, and Saxenda, a GLP-1 derivative, is an injection that has proven long-term efficacy and safety in the treatment of obesity, but it must be administered with the proper diet, exercise and behavioral therapy in the right treatment".