One of the world’s top-selling diabetes drugs, Sitagliptin and Sitagliptin with Metformin just got cheaper by at least 50 percent for Indian patients. The news is that at least 40 companies have launched or are slated to launch the generic version of global pharma company Merck, known as MSD in India, and their popular diabetes drug Januvia and Janumet in the domestic market.
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Besides MSD, until last week the only other company that was selling these drugs in India was Sun Pharma, which was licensed by MSD to do so. Now, as the drug has gone off-patent, there is a flurry of competition resulting in prices of these drugs falling between 50 percent and 70 percent overnight.
In fact, to put it into perspective Glenmark has already launched eight different combinations of Sitagliptin-based drugs under their brand name Sitazit, while Zydus has launched their version at 60 percent discount to the innovator price.
Januvia comprises of the molecule Sitagliptin and Janumet contains Sitagliptin with metformin. Both drugs treat type-2 diabetes and together have a market size of over $5 billion globally.
The molecule Sitagliptin is considered to be the gold standard within the DPP4i diabetes drugs category with 62 percent market share. In India, the oral diabetic drug market is Rs 12,500 crore with the DPP4i category size at Rs 4,000 crore.
The market size of both these drugs in India Sitagliptin and Sitagliptin with Metformin is Rs 950 to Rs 1,000 crore. However, between the two, Sitagliptin with Metformin is the more popular drug with combined market size of over Rs 700 crore. Sitagliptin alone is just about Rs 250 crore in size comparatively.
In fact, Sitagliptin with Metformin is around the fourth largest molecule in the Indian market currently after the likes of older molecules such as Glimipride and metformin, which is around Rs 2,850 crore in size or Vildagliptin with metformin which is a close to Rs 1,000 crore market.
Analysts expect the volume growth of sitagliptin with metformin to shoot up as prices will now fall. Januvia, which cost Rs 45 for a per-day therapy is likely to reduce to Rs 9-14, and Janumet, which was a Rs 23 per day therapy is likely to reduce to Rs 10-15.
Sales and market share are expected to shoot up since Sitagliptin with metformin is considered to have greater cardiac safety and has the advantage of being a once-day therapy.
However, this is not the first time that we have had such steep discounts by companies in the domestic market.
Teneligliptin, another drug in the diabetes space saw discounts of over 50 percent in 2015 when launched by the likes of Glenmark and more recently for molecule vildagliptin in 2019.
But this time around the competition is expected to be hotter for Sitagliptin as Sun Pharma, which has an established name in the Sitagliptin market, has slashed its prices to protect its market share.
