Alvogen Korea's obesity treatment drug Qsymia (ingredient: phentermine/topiramate) posted more than 26 billion won ($21.5 million) in sales last year to become the only product to maintain growth among approved obesity drugs in Korea.

According to IQVIA, a drug market research company, Qsymia recorded 26.2 billion won in sales last year, a 16.6 percent increase from the previous year, maintaining its No. 2 ranking after Saxenda.

Saxenda remained the best seller with sales of 36.2 billion won, but its sales fell 1.7 percent last year from 36.8 billion won in 2020.

Saxenda, which has dominated the Korean obesity market since its launch in March 2018, has been showing a decline in sales after Alvogen Korea launched Qsymia in January 2020 and posted a sale of 22.5 billion won. Facing fierce competition from Qsymia, Saxenda's sales declined 13.5 percent to 36.8 billion won in 2020.

Industry insiders stressed that while Saxenda, a non-psychoactive drug, benefited as health authorities strengthened monitoring of the prescription of an appetite suppressant, a psychotropic drug, patients have recently favored Qsymia as the treatment is a capsule compared to Saxenda's injection formulation.

Qsymia is psychotropic drug-containing phentermine, but hospitals can prescribe the drug for a longer period (12 weeks) by mixing topiramate.

Such benefits seem to have helped boost sales of Qsymia when sales of other phentermine and phendimetrazine-based appetite suppressants saw a decline in sales, the market watchers said.

Alvogen Korea's other obesity treatment drugs, Furing and Furimin, recorded the largest decline in sales of 4 billion and 3.3 billion, respectively, down 21.8 and 18.3 percent from the previous year.

Sales of other obesity drugs also showed a decline, with Huons' Hutermin and Phendi posting 5.3 and 2.9 billion won in sales (down 12.7 and 8.8 percent), and Daewoong Pharmaceutical's Dietamin 8.3 billion won (down 9.8 percent).