Average growth rate of single drugs is 5.1%.. that of complex drug is 7.0%
Average of 6 items of SGLT-2 inhibitors grew by 34.1%
DPP-4 inhibitors, which have continued to grow at a high rate for more than ten years in South Korea, have slowed down.
According to IQVIA, the combined sales of major DPP-4 inhibitors (including complex drugs) in the first quarter of the year were $12.48 billion, an increase of 8.3% compared to the same period of last year.
Except for DongA-ST’s two items (Suganon and Sugamet), which had the pre-ordering effect prior to the suspension of sales, the combined sales growth of the remaining items will significantly be reduced to 6.3%.
In particular, the growth rate of complex drugs (including dyslipidemia complex), which has been driving the growth of the DPP-4 inhibitor market, reached 7.0% (except Sugamet), resulting in a shade of difference between the growth of 5.1% of the single drugs over the same period.
The domestic companies’ products relatively made better outcomes than expected. Especially DongA-ST’s combined sales nearly doubled due to the pre-order effect.
LG Chem’s three Zemiglo items (Zemiglo, Zemimet, and Zemiro) averaged 14.9% growth, and the combined sales rose to $20 billion.
Sales of Zemiglo, a single drug, increased by 8.5%, while the complex drug Zemimet, expanded by 18.2%.
Handok’s single drug Tenelia recorded a 9.2% growth rate, and the complex drug TeneliaM grew 15.6%, thus increased total sales to 12.4%.
In JW Pharmaceutical Corp., the sales of single drug Guardlet decreased 4.9% from the same period of the previous year, but the Guardmet increased by 17.2%, and the combined sales growth reached 9.6%.
Among the foreign affiliates, Boehringer Ingelheim had finer consequences. A single drug Trajenta and the complex drug Trajenta-duo each grew 8.9% and 10.2%, and the combined sales reached $27.4 billion.
On the other hand, the Januvia family (MSD), which opened the DPP-4 inhibitor market and has leading items in the market, has stalled in growth. The combined sales increased by only 0.2% YoY.
While sales of the single drug Januvia rose 1.1% and the Slow-released complex Janumet XR grew 4.1%, Janumet grew 4.3%, preventing the Janubvia family from growing backward.
When Janumet’s growth was over, Janumet XR, which had let the Januvia family leap forward with Slow-released drugs, returned to degrowth, while the Janumet once again led the growth.
Galvus, which entered the DPP-4 inhibitor market for the second after Januvia, is also unsatisfied with the recent release of data on the early use of Metformin.
The combined sales growth rate remained 1.08%, with 3.7% degrowth in single drug Galvus and 2.3% growth in complex drugs.
AstraZeneca’s single drug Onglyza and the complex drug Kombiglyze rather grew 5.5%, far exceeding 1.4% of the complex drug, with the average growth rate standing at 2.6%.
Takeda’s sales of single drug Nesina grew 5.9%, while Metformin complex drug Nesina Met grew 5.9% backward. Nesina is also nearly two times ahead of Nesina Met in sales.
Nesina Act, a TZD (Actos) complex drug, made $2.8 billion with 11.1% growth, increasing its combined sales growth to 3.4%.
Meanwhile, while the DPP-4 inhibitors’ growth slowed significantly, SGLT-2 inhibitors continued to grow.
Forxiga, which launched the SGLT-2 inhibitor market with the massive products, recorded a growth rate of 24% with sales of $13 billion along with the complex drug Xigduo.
Boehringer Ingelheim’ single drug Jardiance and the complex drug Jardiance Duo expanded their sales to $10.1 billion with a 48.7% growth rate, narrowing the gap with the Jardiance family to within $3 billion.
Moreover, although Astellas’ Suglat reached $0.6 billion and MSD’s Steglatro recorded $0.4 billion, the gap between the starters widened.