GLP-1 diabetes, Trulicity runs at a high speed

₩30 billion annual sales easily

IQVIA announced, third-quarter sales is ₩10 billion, and Total sales is ₩27.3 billion

Occupies more than 98% of GLP-1 analogue market , leading overall market expansion

Lyxumia, Victoza and Byetta continued negative sales flow

Trulicity

Once-weekly diabetes treatment, Trulicity, overwhelms the GLP-1 analog market.

 

The company's annual sales are over ₩30 billion, exceeding ₩27 billion in nine months.

 

The market grew to more than 98% with a single item, increasing the overall market size.

 

According to the drug market research agency IQVIA on the 28th, Trulicity (Dulaglutide), Lyxumia(Lixisenatide), Victoza(Liraglutide) and Bayetta(Exenatide) Sales of four GLP-1 analogs, totaled ₩10.2 billon.

 

That's a 35.8% increase over the same period last year.

 

GLP-1 analogues are drugs developed using the GLP-1 (Glucago-Like Peptide-1) hormone, which is involved in blood glucose control in the body.

 

GLP-1 hormone stimulates insulin secretion right after meals to lower blood sugar, and when blood sugar drops below a certain level, it reduces insulin secretion to help prevent hypoglycemia.

 

Lilly's Trulicity, launched in 2016, dominates the market and leads the market expansion.

 

Trulicity's revenue in the third quarter was ₩10 billion, up 38.4% YoY.

 

Cumulative sales for the third quarter of this year amounted to ₩27.3billion.

 

Trulicity is the only long-lasting drug administered once a week among GLP-1 analogues in Korea.

 

Since its launch in 2016, Lilly Korea and Boryung Pharmaceuticals jointly sell.

 

Quarterly GLP-1 Analogs Revenue and True Share Market Trend (Unit: ₩ million ,%, Source: IQVIA)

Since its launch, Trulicity has established a monopoly in the GLP-1 analogue market, changing its sales record every quarter.

 

Trulicity's sales, which totaled ₩1.4 billion in the first year, exceeded the ₩12 billion mark in the following year.

 

In 2018, revenue was ₩2.2 billion , up 2.2 times from the previous year.

 

This year, the company achieved its sales record set for last year in three quarters.

 

Trulicity accounts for 98.4% of the total sales of the four GLP-1 analogs.

 

It also contributed to the expansion of the GLP-1 analogue market.

 

Quarterly sales of the three GLP-1 analogues, such as 'Victoza', 'Byetta' and 'Lyxumia', amounted to ₩3 billion , but the overall market expanded rapidly after launching Trulicity.

 

It is 23 times larger than the ₩4.4 billion in the first quarter in 2016, just before the launch of Trulicity.

 

Unlike conventional GLP-1 analogues, which had to be injected once or twice daily as a fast-acting mechanism, it was evaluated that the convenience of patients was improved by increasing the interval between injections once a week.

 

In addition, GLP-1 analogues have been revised up in domestic and foreign diabetes care guidelines, and the baseline insulin and combination therapy received reimbursement recognition in late 2017.

 

In contrast, GLP-1 analogs, administered once daily, continue to show negative sales.

 

Sanofi's Lyxumia received a momentum of sales shortly after the launch of Trulicity.

 

In the same period, Novo Nordisk's 'Victoza' and AstraZeneca's 'Byetta' sales were only ₩153 million and ₩35 million , respectively.

 

This is in contrast to Saxenda, an obesity drug that uses only the same ingredients as Victoza, and recorded cumulative sales of ₩32 billion until the third quarter of this year.

 

GLP-1 analogue 'ozempic (semaglutide)' by Novo Nordisk was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at the end of 2017 for the release.

 

In last September, FDA approved Rybelsus which converts ozempil to oral use.

 

but both products are still before permission in Korea.