Obesity drug craze affects global pharma subsidiaries in KOR

Novo 63%↑, Lily 2%↓

Novo’s sales surged last year with the launch of Wegovy... Sales increased by KRW 144.5 billion

Lily's launch of Mounjaro in Korea delayed... Shows a slight decline in sales

Whether or not a new obesity drug in the glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) family has been launched has had a significant impact on the performance of Novo Nordisk and Lilly Korea.

 

Last year, Novo Nordisk’s sales increased by 63% upon the launch of Wegovy in the domestic market.

 

In the case of Lilly Korea, sales decreased slightly due to the delay in the launch of the licensed Mounjaro into the market in 2023 and the sluggish sales of some other products.  According to the Financial Supervisory Service on the 3rd, Novo Nordisk Korea's sales increased 63% from KRW 230.2 billion in 2023 to KRW 374.7 billion last year.

 

Operating profit increased 65% from KRW 8.3 billion to KRW 13.7 billion over the same period.

 

Novo Nordisk’s sales growth was driven by Wegovy.

 

According to the market research institution IQVIA, Wegovy recorded sales of KRW 60.3 billion in the same quarter since its launch in October last year.

 

Wegovy, which was approved in Korea in April 2023, is a GLP-1 formulation composed of semaglutide, which has been confirmed to have effects on reducing weight and glycated hemoglobin.

 

Novo Nordisk developed the obesity treatment drug Wegovy, a semaglutide that confirmed the weight loss effect of patients during the clinical trial of its GLP-1 class diabetes drug candidate and is administered once a week.

 

Novo Nordisk and Lilly Korea

Novo Nordisk’s insulin product also contributed to the growth in its sales.

 

According to the market research institution UBIST, sales of its combination of liraglutide, a GLP-1 analogue, and the insulin degludec, Xultophy, reached KRW 15.1 billion last year, up 26% from the previous year.  In addition, the once-weekly insulin product Tresiba and the insulin combination product Ryzodeg also recorded sales of KRW 38 billion and KRW 31.3 billion last year, up 3% and 7%, respectively.  Novo Nordisk plans to further strengthen its position in the field of obesity.

 

Currently, Novo Nordisk is conducting a global Phase III clinical trial of its new obesity drug, ‘CagriSema,' following the success of its previous drugs, Wegovy and Saxenda.

 

CagriSema is a combination of 2.4 mg of semaglutide, the main ingredient of Wegovy, and 2.4 mg of the long-acting amylin analogue, Cagrilintide.

 

This drug is regarded as a next-generation obesity drug.

 

In clinical trials, CagriSema has been shown to be 23% more effective in weight loss than existing single-agent semaglutide.

 

The expected end of clinical trials is in the first quarter of next year, after which Novo Nordisk plans to apply for approval from major regulatory agencies around the world.

 

Lilly shows slow performance due to non-launch of Mounjaro On the other hand, the performance of Lilly Korea’s Mounjaro, which is also a GLP-1 class diabetes and obesity drug, showed a slight decline.

 

Lilly Korea recorded sales of KRW 164.2 billion last year, down 2% from KRW 167.8 billion the previous year.

 

Operating profit was KRW 10.3 billion, down 1% from 2023.

 

In the case of Lilly Korea, it is analyzed that sales have not increased significantly due to the delay in the launch of Mounjaro.

 

Mounjaro is a new diabetes drug developed by Lilly.

 

Mounjaro acts on both the gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP) receptor and the GLP-1 receptor to promote insulin secretion, improve insulin resistance, and reduce glucagon secretion, thereby reducing blood sugar levels before and after meals.

 

Obesity drugs Wegovy, Zepbound, Saxenda

Mounjaro has the advantage of not only controlling blood sugar levels but also having an excellent weight loss effect.

 

Mounjaro has proven its weight loss effect through the results of the Phase III SURMOUNT-1 clinical trial, which was conducted on overweight adult patients who are not diabetic, have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or higher, or have one or more comorbidities, and who were administered Mounjaro once a week.

 

Lilly launched the same-ingredient obesity treatment, Zepbound, in the US market in November 2023, as it has confirmed the weight loss effect in the clinical trial of the drug in the US.

 

In Korea, the drug was approved as a treatment for diabetes in June 2023 and secured additional indications as a new obesity drug with the same product name in August last year.

 

However, its launch in the domestic market has not yet taken place.  In addition, sales of Lilly Korea’s Trulicity and Cymbalta were also sluggish last year.

 

Sales of Trulicity, a GLP-1 class diabetes drug, fell 16% from KRW 44.4 billion the previous year to KRW 37.2 billion.

 

Sales of Cymbalta, an antidepressant, fell 52% from 2023 to KRW 5.1 billion.

 

Lilly Korea is looking forward to the success of the SGLT-2 inhibitor Jardiance.

 

Jardiance's sales last year rose 14% year-on-year to KRW 66.3 billion.

 

It benefited from the withdrawal of its rival product, Forxiga, from the market last year.

 

In addition, the company is aiming for a rebound by launching Ebglyss, a new atopic dermatitis drug, in January this year.  Lilly is also preparing a next-generation diabetes and obesity drug.

 

Retatrutide, which is being developed by Lilly, is a next-generation diabetes and obesity drug that acts on three receptors: GLP-1, GIP, and GCG (glucagon).

 

To date, no new obesity drugs have been commercialized using this mechanism.

 

In the Phase II clinical trial, Retatrutide demonstrated a weight loss effect of 22.8% and 24.2% when administered at 8 mg and 12 mg at week 48, respectively.

 

This is a higher weight loss effect than the 20.2% of the existing GLP-1 and GIP targeting Mounjaro.

 

Currently, Lilly is confirming the potential of retatrutide not only in obesity but also in various chronic diseases such as diabetes and liver disease.