Medical Innovations

Rovelito, developed by Hanmi Drug, is a new combo drug that fights high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia.
Rovelito, developed by Hanmi Drug, is a new combo drug that fights high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia.

 

Research towards new “combo drugs” is all the rage now. A combo drug refers to two or more drugs that can be taken at once.

Fierce competition among pharmaceutical companies is looming, according to industry sources on April 8, since they are in hot pursuit of developing new combo drugs mostly against chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes.

A new combo drug has merits because, if the research succeeds, it can be put on the market before the patent on the original drug expires, and it easily differentiates itself from other copy drugs.

In particular, the government decided to give a favorable rate in determining the prices of the new improved combo drugs from November last year, attracting attention from pharmaceutical companies.

The front runner in Korea is Hanmi Drug. The company was put in the spotlight in the wake of rolling out Rovelito and Naxozol, developed together with the global pharmaceutical company Sanofi at the end of last year. The first is a combo drug against high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia, and the latter combines anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer properties.

The important part of developing a new combo drug goes beyond simply combining two elements. The integral skill involves making sure that those combined elements do not counteract each other.

In 2009, the market leader also launched Amosartan, a drug that combines two elements that treat high blood pressure, earning over 60 billion won (US$57.6 million) per annum domestically while signing an export contract with 51 countries through America’s Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD). The drug giant is also spearheading a joint project with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to develop new combo drugs.

Daewoong Pharm. Co., Ltd. recently rolled out Olostar, a new combo drug that treats high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia, eyeing at reaching domestic sales of 50 billion won (US$48 million) and global sales of 250 billion won (US$240 million) in 5 years.

The “two tier tablet” technique has been applied to the product to minimize drug interactions that can happen when two or more drugs are taken at once. The company has filed a patent application for the technique.

Ildong pharmacy is developing a variety of combo drugs that can fight diabetes, hyperlipidemia, gastrointestinal disorder,s and inflammation, and got the green light for clinical testing on Korea’s first combo drug that combines three high blood pressure drugs.

Yuhan Corporation is conducting clinical testing on high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia combo drug YH16410, and hyperlipidemia and diabetes combo drug YH14755. At the same time, LG Life Sciences Ltd. is in the process of developing a new combo drug that combines in-house developed diabetes drug Zemiglo and hyperlipidemia-treating Cresto.

One pharmaceutical industry associate said, “A combo drug kills two birds with one stone, since it can reduce the cost of the drug as well as treat the diseases. For their sustainable growth, pharmaceutical companies need to strategically develop new combo drugs against chronic adult diseases rather than developing copy drugs.”

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