Trulicity's share reaches 99.8%

2Q sales increased by 24.8% YoY to 18 billion won

7th year since its release, still on the rise

Prolonged domestic supply shortage since July

Trulicity

Trulicity, a GLP-1 analog class diabetes treatment, once again set the record for highest sales.

 

However, it is unclear whether this upward trend will continue in the second half.

 

This is because it is said that some disruptions have occurred in domestic supply due to a shortage of global distribution supplies.

 

Ozempic and Rybelsus, which are considered strong opponents, are waiting for release.

 

In the pharmaceutical industry, if the two drugs are added in earnest, it is expected that the diabetes treatment market, which is dominated by Trulicity, will fluctuate greatly.

 

According to IQVIA, a pharmaceutical market research institute, on the 26th, Trulicity's sales in the second quarter were 18 billion won.

 

Compared to the second quarter of last year, it increased by 24.8% in one year.

 

Trulicity is a GLP-1 analog class diabetes treatment.

 

GLP-1 analogs are drugs developed using the GLP-1 hormone involved in blood sugar control in the body.

 

The GLP-1 hormone promotes insulin secretion right after a meal to drop blood sugar, and when blood sugar drops below a certain level, it reduces insulin secretion to help prevent hypoglycemia.

 

It has been 7 years since it was released in Korea, but it is still growing rapidly.

 

Trulicity exceeded 10 billion won in quarterly sales in the third quarter of 2019 and exceeded 15 billion won in sales in the second quarter of last year.

 

After that, it stagnated in the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year, but set a new record again in the second quarter.

 

Even though it was released as the latest among the drugs in the same class, it won the competition with Victoza, Lyxumia, and Byetta, and in 2017, it virtually solidified its solo system.

 

As of the second quarter of this year, Trulicity's market share reached 99.8%.

 

Shortage of domestic supply and notice of the emergence of competitive drugs.

 

In June, Eli Lilly notified its partner Boryeong that Trulicity would be difficult to supply in Korea.

 

It is said that the clinical site has been struggling with the supply of Trulicity since last July.

 

In this regard, Eli Lilly's position is that there is a disruption in supply due to the increase in global demand.

 

On the other hand, some in the pharmaceutical industry argue that Trulicity's production has decreased relatively as Eli Lilly focused on producing Mounjaro, a next-generation drug, at the headquarters level.

 

The timing of the release of competing drugs is also considered a variable.

 

In the pharmaceutical industry, Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Rybelsus are considered strong competitors to Trulicity.

 

Ozempic is a long-acting, once-a-week injection of the same type as Trulicity, and Rybelsus is an oral drug.

 

Rybelsus is taken once daily.

 

Novo Nordisk received licenses for Ozempic in April and Rybelsus in May, respectively.

 

It is said that Ozempic has already overtaken Trulicity in the global market.

 

However, the official launch of Ozempic in Korea has been temporarily suspended due to a lack of global supply.