SK chemicals, AstraZeneca seal global supply deal for diabetes combo

SK chemicals said Thursday that it signed a global contract manufacturing organization (CMO) agreement with AstraZeneca for the supply of Sidapvia. 

Sidapvia is a combination of Forxiga (ingredient: dapagliflozin) and sitagliptin, approved in Korea to treat type 2 diabetes in adults aged 18 years and older. 

On June 30, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) approved the drug developed jointly by the two companies.

Under the agreement, they will supply Sidapvia to Korea and then expand it to other countries. SK chemicals will manufacture and supply Sidapvia, and AstraZeneca will commercialize it as the holder of the Forxiga combination’s marketing right. 

Forxiga is the original dapagliflozin-based medicine and the top-selling sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitor. Sitagliptin is the top-selling dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor. SGLT-2 inhibitors and DDP-4 inhibitors have different mechanisms of action. 

The SGLT-2 inhibitor lowers blood sugar by inhibiting the reabsorption of glucose by the kidneys, and the DPP-4 inhibitor regulates blood sugar by inhibiting the breakdown of incretin hormones in the body. Together, they are expected to provide synergistic effects to deliver a higher potency of blood glucose reduction for patients with type 2 diabetes, according to SK chemicals. 

"The recognition of SK chemicals’ pharmaceutical technology and production capacity has paved the way to supplying medicines to more countries,” SK chemicals CEO Ahn Jae-hyun said. “We will continue to establish various collaborations starting with this diabetes combination therapy.”