Novo Nordisk Korea has recently launched two new type 2 diabetes drugs – Rybelsus and Ozempic – raising expectations among local doctors that the drug will become a game-changer for Korean patients.
"One of the most important aspects of treating type 2 diabetes is to reduce cardiovascular complications, the leading cause of death in diabetic patients. A suitable treatment for this is Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA)." Professor Won Kyu-jang of the Department of Endocrinology at Yeungnam University Medical Center said during a press conference held by Novo Nordisk Korea on Wednesday.
According to Professor Won, the recent American Diabetes Association guideline recommends doctors use SGLT-2 inhibitors or GLP-1 analogs, which have shown the benefit of reducing cardiovascular risk at an early stage considering the risk of cardiovascular complications in type 2 diabetes patients.
"The guidelines of the Korean Diabetes Association also included the GLP-1 analog as the preferred drug for patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease," Won said. "The KDA guideline also emphasized the broad mechanism of action of GLP-1 analogs."
GLP-1 analogs are agents that act combined with six etiologies that cause type 2 diabetes, effective for weight loss and glycated hemoglobin reduction.
Professor Kim Shin-gon of the Department of Endocrinology at Korea University College of Medicine agreed that Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 treatments would become a game-changer in treating Korean type 2 diabetes patients.
"In the treatment of type 2 diabetes, the GLP-1 analog stimulates insulin secretion and decreases glucagon secretion, thereby exhibiting a hypoglycemic effect," Professor Kim said during the media event. "Incidentally, it delays the passage of food in the stomach and is known to be involved in suppression of appetite."
The drug also has a high effect on weight loss even compared to obesity treatments, Kim added.
Professor Kim showed particular expectations for the world's first oral type 2 diabetes treatment Rybelsus.
Although there have been many attempts to develop an oral GLP-1 analogs formulation, the absorption of the drug through the gastrointestinal tract was very limited, he noted.
"However, Novo Nordisk developed Rybelsus for oral administration by combining sodium N-(8-[2-hydroxybenzoyl] amino) caprylate (SNAC), an absorption enhancing substance, with semaglutide," Kim said. "Also, while Ozempic increased convenience by allowing patients to receive the treatment once a week, in Korea, many patients strongly have a negative perspective toward injection type treatments."
Despite being an oral drug, Rybelsus has also shown blood sugar-lowering effects as good as an injection and a positive effect on cholesterol reduction and cardiovascular disease, Kim added.
The professor stressed that he expects that the domestic approval of Rybelsus and Ozempic will provide a new innovative paradigm by satisfying the existing unmet demand in the domestic diabetes treatment market.
"It will be a game-changer for the treatment of type 2 diabetes," he said.
Rybelsus, an oral GLP-1 analog, is a treatment for adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus used in adjunction with diet and exercise to improve glycemic control. Patients can take the drug orally once a day. There is no need to adjust the drug dose in patients with renal dysfunction, liver dysfunction, or elderly patients.
Ozempic is a long-acting semaglutide injection that patients can administer once a week. Unlike other drugs in the same class, Ozempic can reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events in adult patients with type 2 diabetes and confirmed cardiovascular disease.