What drug will be replaced by Belviq’s withdrawal?

Obesity specialists may change to safety-based prescriptions

Saxenda or Qsymia are expected to benefit

As Ildong’s Belviq, which dominated the obese drug market for a long time, is finally exiting the market, there is a growing interest in which drug will fill this gap.

 

Obesity experts are predicting that safety-oriented prescriptions may be available for the time being, while Saxenda and Qsymia are expected to benefit directly.

 

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety recently decided to stop selling and recall Belviq(lorcacerin) because of the risk of cancer.

 

The U.S.

 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended its recovery, saying the risk is greater than the benefit.

 

As a result, Eisai in charge of the U.S.

 

sales, immediately took over its own collection, and Ildong, a domestic sales company, is also in the process of collecting it.

 

According to IQVIA, a global market research firm, Belviq has been overwhelmingly occupying the No.1 ranking in the obese market until 2018 since it landed in Korea in 2015.

 

Indeed, in 2018, Belviq's outpatient prescriptions amounted to ₩9.07 billion, the highest in the obese drug market, beating Dietamin(₩8.48 billion) and Hutermin (₩7.86 billion).

 

Literally the market dominated by the number one leader suddenly withdrawn from the market is bound to be a big ripple Obesity experts point out that safety will be an issue for obesity prescriptions for the time being.

 

It is believed that Belviq could also create the same situation, reflecting on the safety controversy that has been taking place for the time being after the 2010 Reductil(Sibutramine) eviction Professor A, a member of the Korean society for the study of obesity, said, "The safety issue for obesity drugs persisted for a while even when Reductil was evicted as a cardiovascular safety issue, and Belvik is also likely to create such a situation".

 

What kind of drugs are obese experts considering as a substitute for Belviq?

 

First of all, Saxenda(Liraglutide) is expected to be nearing peak item.

 

Prescriptions have already increased since last year, conquering the obese drug market, and safety issues cannot be ignored.

 

Professor A said, "I think that the Saxenda, which was developed with GLP-1 diabetes, will benefit as much as it has been tested for safety, also, it's already been imprinted on obese patients and for now it's almost the only drug that is free from safety issues".

 

In fact, Saxenda has already led the reorganization of the overweight drug market, surpassing Dietamin(₩9.3 billion) and Belviq(₩8.8 billion), recording outpatient prescription amounts of ₩15.1 billion in the third quarter of 2019.

 

With the disappearance of the biggest competitor among them, there is a prospect that Saxenda’s prescription may be accelerated.

 

However, some are expecting the limited competitiveness of the Saxenda.

 

Rather, Oral medications will be more popular because the characteristics of the drugs are completely different An executive of the DAOR said, “Saxenda has long-term safety data, but it just quotes past clinical trials.

 

Furthermore, there may be a difference in compliance when switching to injection in that Belviq is oral”.

 

He said, "While Qsymia is likely to benefit from the new drug effect, some people are considering Phentamines, which have been prescribed for a long time".

 

Some experts predict that Belviq's withdrawal will not have a big impact on the market right away.

 

Obesity drugs are not a long-term use treatment itself, and it is not urgent enough to change the prescription to another drug right now.

 

Professor B, a member of the Korean society for the study of obesity, said, "Stopping a medication used to treat obesity right away does not cause a problem immediately.

 

Belviq's withdrawal will not have a big impact on the market".

 

In addition, the professor said, "Because it is a drug that has been prescribed a lot, Pharmaceuticals will go for the potion and aggressively market it, but I think that the potion won't be moved to other drugs right now, although the potion may come down".