AZ will withdraw its KRW 50 bil Forxiga from KOR mkt

Due to intensified competition after the drug’s patent expiry...AZ "made the decision to discontinue domestic supply"

KRW 50 billion void in the single-agent market will be inevitable...foreshadows increased generic competition

Forxiga (dapagliflozin), an SGLT-2 inhibitor class diabetes drug worth KRW 50 billion a year, will withdraw from the domestic market.

 

According to industry sources on the 11th, AstraZeneca Korea recently made the decision to discontinue supply of Forxiga in Korea.

 

However, the company will continue to supply its dapagliflozin and metformin combination drug Xigduo in Korea.

 

An official from AstraZeneca told Dailypharm, "We have decided to discontinue the domestic supply of Forxiga in Korea to reorganize our portfolio.

 

We have started discussions with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety regarding withdrawing our marketing authorization.

 

We will do our best to ensure that there is no interruption in domestic supply before withdrawing the drug in the first half of next year." The decision to discontinue the supply is deemed to have been made upon the expiration of Forxiga’s patent.

 

Forxiga’s substance patent expired in April.

 

Since then, a total of 60 companies have launched generic versions of Forxiga simultaneously, heralding fierce competition.

 

Forxiga’s prescription performance has been declining ever since the launch of its generics.

 

According to market research institution UBIST, Forxiga’s outpatient prescriptions in Q3 totaled at KRW 13.7 billion, up 4% YoY.

 

However, this is the second consecutive quarter the drug saw a decline in sales from the KRW 14.5 billion it had posted in Q1 this year, just before its patent expiry.

 

This is likely due to the increased competition following the release of the large number of generics.

 

In fact, Forxiga’s generics generated prescription sales of KRW 5.9 billion in Q2 and KRW 10.6 billion in Q3.

 

The generic's share of the dapagliflozin diabetes drug market has increased to 30% within 6 months of its launch.

 

Quarterly prescriptions of Forxiga andn Xigduo

Forxiga’s full withdrawal is expected to create a void worth KRW 50 billion in the diabetes treatment market.

 

And this void is expected to be filled by Forxiga genetics and generics of another SGLT-2 inhibitor, Jardiance (empagliflozin).

 

Also, generic competition is expected to intensify in the process.

 

Forxiga was previously copromoted in Korea by Daewoong Pharmaceutical.

 

Daewoong plans to fill the Forxiga gap with based on its SGLT-2 inhibitor diabetes drug, Envlo (enavogliflozin).