Wegovy dominates the obesity drug market

Wegovy generated sales of KRW 60 billion after its launch in Q4 2024…market share of 64%

The introduction of new products has captured the market after the withdrawal of products containing sibutramine…Saxenda has led the market for five consecutive years

The introduction of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy has shaken the market substantially.

 

Since its launch in Q4, Wegovy has captured 60% of the entire market.

 

Given the introduction of Wegovy, the obesity market expanded to the largest in history.

 

It also consumed the market for Saxenda, containing the same class of active ingredients as Weogvy.

 

It is unclear whether such growth will continue because of restricted non-face-to-face medical prescriptions of obesity drugs.

 

However, the market continues to shake up whenever effective and safe new obesity drugs from multinational companies are launched.

 

Record sales in 2024 obesity drug market…Wegovy's Q4 sales amounted to KRW 60.3 billion, with 64% market share According to pharmaceutical market research firm IQVIA, on March 10, last year's obesity drug market amounted to KRW 236.3 billion, up 32.8% compared to the previous year.

 

The obesity drug market continued to set the largest size for seven consecutive years since 2018, exceeding KRW 200 billion for the first time in history.

 

Last year's growth of the obesity drug market was led by Novo Nordisk's Wegovy.

 

Wegovy launched in October last year and recorded KRW 60.3 billion in three months.

 

Quarterly sales figures for key products in the obesity drug market.

 

(Legend from left) Wegovy, Qsymia, Saxenda, obesity drug market (unit: KRW 100 million, source: IQVIA)

Wegovy received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) in April 2023.

 

It is a GLP-1-containing semaglutide that has been shown to reduce glycated hemoglobin.

 

While conducting clinical trials for GLP-1 diabetes treatment candidates, Novo Nordisk confirmed the effects of lowering patient body weight and developed semaglutide-containing Wegovy as an obesity drug with a once-weekly formulation.

 

Last year's Q4 obesity market size amounted to KRW 93.8 billion, an expansion of 154.5% Year-over-Year (YoY).

 

Wegovy accounted for 64.4% of the entire obesity drug market.

 

Wegovy is trending globally with its outstanding weight loss effects.

 

Wegovy recorded last year's sales of NOK 58.2 billion (About KRW 11.7 trillion), an increase of 85.7% compared to 2023 sales of NOK 31.3 billion.

 

Since its launch in the United States, the drug has been sold out with a rapid increase in demand.

 

Before its official launch, Wegovy was already regarded as a secret weight loss solution among celebrities, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and there was a global shortage.

 

Despite being priced KRW 500,000 higher than the other drugs, Wegovy generated significant interest following its domestic launch and was in short supply.

 

Due to the introduction of Wegovy, the sales of Saxenda and Qsymia, which previously dominated the obesity drug market, have significantly decreased.

 

Last year, Saxenda recorded sales of KRW 65.6 billion, down 1.7% from the previous year.

 

The decrease in sales of Saxenda was seen three years after 2021.

 

Saxenda reported a significant decline in sales in Q4 of last year.

 

Saxenda's sales in Q4 of last year amounted to KRW 7.3 billion, down 27.3% YoY.

 

The sales declined by 78.9% in a quarter from KRW 18.9 billion in Q3 of last year.

 

Analysis suggests Wegovy, a GLP-1 drug similar to Saxenda, has captured the market for Saxenda.

 

However, Qsymia's sales have not changed much since the launch of Wegovy.

 

Qsymia recorded sales of KRW 39.1 billion last year, up 10.1% from the previous year.

 

In Q4 last year, when Wegovy launched, Qsymia recorded sales of KRW 9.3 billion, down 7.1% from the previous year.

 

However, it is unclear whether Wegovy will show marked growth this year.

 

Previously, Wegovy was prescribed through non-face-to-face medical sessions.

 

As concerns have been raised regarding unrestricted prescription of Wegovy through non-face-to-face medical sessions regardless of weight or obesity status, the health authority discontinued non-face-to-face prescription of obesity drugs as of December 16, 2024.

 

The obestiy drug market fluctuates whenever new drugs launch…Saxenda has led the market for the past five years The obesity drug market underwent restructuring whenever promising new products are launched.

 

Products containing sibutramine, which inhibits appetite, sold the most and once dominated the market.

 

However, it has no longer been in sale due to the risk of cardiovascular side effects since 2010.

 

The Korean market of obesity drug market was sluggish for a long time.

 

Once worth a market size of KRW 116.2 billion in 2009, it dropped to KRW 66.7 billion over five years.

 

Since 2015, the introduction of new products has led to a rebound in the market.

 

In February 2015, Ildong Pharmaceutical obtained domestic approval for 'Belviq,' which the company acquired from the U.S.-based Arena Pharmaceuticals and led the recovery of the entire market.

 

Belviq selectively works on the neurotransmitter serotonin receptor, which regulates appetite and emotion, suppressing appetite and increasing meal-related satiety.

 

It has gained attention for being the new drug approved for weight-loss medication by the U.S.

 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 13 years.

 

Kwang-dong Pharm has contributed to the market expansion after launching 'Contrave' in 2016.

 

Kwang-dong Pharm acquired Contrave from the U.S.-based biotech company Orexigen Therapeutics.

 

Contrave was approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in 2015, and it is used to manage the weight of adults who are overweight or obese.

 

After the launching of Belviq and Contrave, the obesity drug market expanded to KRW 92.8 billion and KRW 96.8 billion in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

 

Yearly obesity drug market size (unit: KRW 100 million, source: IQVIA).

 

Belviq, Saxenda, and Wegovy were launched in 2015, 2019, and 2024, respectively.

Saxenda, launched in Korea in 2018, is the first glucagon-like GLP-1 agonist medication for obesity.

 

It contains the same ingredient as Victoza (ingredient: liraglutide), which is prescribed to patients with type 2 diabetes but with different methods of administration and dosages.

 

Saxenda became the top-selling drug in the market after recording sales of KRW 42.6 billion in 2019, just after its launch, and maintained the place for five consecutive years until 2023.

 

Saxenda recorded sales of KRW 66.8 billion in 2023.

 

Saxenda took up a 37.5% market share of the obesity market in 2023.

 

The obesity drug market set a record in 2019 with KRW 134.1 billion in 10 years.

 

In 2023, it recorded KRW 178 billion, setting a record for five consecutive years.

 

Qsymia, marketed by Alvogen Korea, has also contributed to the expansion of the obesity drug market.

 

Launched in late 2019, Qsymia is a combination therapy containing 'phentermine' and 'topiramate.' Alvogen Korea secured domestic sales rights from the U.S.-based VIVUS in 2017.

 

In late 2019, Alvogen Korea signed a co-promotion agreement with Chong Kun Dang to begin full-scale domestic sales.

 

Qsymia recorded sales of KRW 35.5 billion in 2023.

 

The sales of Qsymia were comparable to Saxenda.

 

Despite oral administration, Qsymia has a relatively small amount of psychotropic drug ingredients, and it has the advantage that it can be prescribed for an extended period.

 

Alvogen Korea's extensive sales networks in the domestic obesity market, gained from its previous experience selling Furing and Furimin, synergized with Chong Kun Dang's business power to penetrate the market with Qsymia rapidly.

 

With the launch of Wegovy last year, the obesity drug market underwent another restructuring, and the introduction of Mounjaro and other next-generation obesity treatments is expected to reshape the landscape further.

 

Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro received approval from the MFDS in June 2023.

 

Mounjaro, a once-weekly injectable, is a next-generation GLP-1 analog that activates GLP-1 and GIP receptors.

 

It has been demonstrated that Mounjaro has superior weight loss compared to Wegovy.