AstraZeneca Korea said Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with HK inno.N, a Kosdaq-listed healthcare company, to co-promote Forxiga's combination drugs, Xigduo XR (dapagliflozin + metformin) and Sidapvia Tab (dapagliflozin + sitagliptin), and to distribute Forxiga (dapagliflozin) in Korea.

Under the agreement, HK inno.N will be responsible for the domestic distribution of Xigduo and Sidapvia, and marketing and sales will be conducted jointly by the two companies.

Forxiga will be marketed by AstraZeneca Korea and is expected to be distributed through HK inno.N until the second half of this year.

The two companies target to stabilize supply to ensure that patients taking Forxiga for type 2 diabetes, chronic heart failure, and chronic kidney disease do not experience any inconvenience.

HK inno.N has previously marketed diabetes drugs, including DPP-4 inhibitors and related combination drugs, in Korea for about five years, and HK inno.N plans to focus on sales and marketing to general hospitals and clinics based on its strong understanding and know-how of the market.

Xigduo is a combination of Forxiga and metformin, recognized as the first SGLT-2 inhibitor and metformin combination, and Sidapvia, which obtained reimbursement in September last year, is a combination of Forxiga and sitagliptin, a DPP-4 inhibitor, and has confirmed notable blood sugar-lowering effects through several studies, AstraZeneca Korea said

"Through our partnership with HK inno.N, AstraZeneca Korea will continue to drive the expansion of the diabetes combination drug market and provide patients and healthcare providers with a wide range of treatment options," said Chon Se-whan, Country President of AstraZeneca Korea. "We will do our utmost to ensure that patients with type 2 diabetes, chronic heart failure, and chronic kidney disease are not inconvenienced with the stable supply of Forxiga."

"With HK inno.N’s strong network and co-marketing experience in the diabetes market, we will focus our sales and marketing capabilities on ensuring that AstraZeneca's excellent treatments are available to healthcare providers and patients in Korea," said Kwak Dal-won, CEO of HK inno.N. "We will do our best to make Forxiga a treatment option for patients with type 2 diabetes through healthcare providers in general hospitals and medical centers across the country."

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca Korea announced in December last year that it would halt the distribution of Forxiga monotherapy in Korea, mentioning that a more detailed schedule for the supply suspension would be determined after addressing measures for existing Forxiga users, with the commitment to continue supplying Xigduo.