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Tonghua Dongbao taps into new market with its first approved oral hypoglycemic drug

Date:2021-09-06
Author:Dongbao
Views:113

Recently, Tonghua Dongbao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“Tonghua Dongbao” or “the Company”) received the Pharmaceutical Product Registration Certificate for sitagliptin phosphate tablets issued by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). The newly approved oral hypoglycemic drug is the first of its kind in Tonghua Dongbao, marking the Company’s official foray into the new market.

Sitagliptin phosphate is a potent, highly selective dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor. Compared to conventional hypoglycemic agents, it features a low risk of hypoglycemia, a neutral effect on body weight, and good cardiovascular safety.

In recent years, China’s DPP-4 inhibitor market has shown a significant upward trend. According to the financial report of Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), the global sales of its sitagliptin phosphate products hit USD 3,306 million in 2020. The sales of sitagliptin phosphate in China have been growing. According to data from Pharmcube, the sales of sitagliptin phosphate tablets in Chinese urban and county-level public hospitals amounted to RMB 1.172 billion in 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of 59.69% from 2016 to 2020.

Now, Tonghua Dongbao has a number of approved insulin drugs, including human insulin and insulin glargine, forming a product cluster of endocrine and hypoglycemic drugs. The newly approved sitagliptin phosphate tablets will further enrich the Company's hypoglycemic product portfolio and provide patients with more medication choices. It will also sharpen the Company’s competitive edge and consolidate its lead in the field of diabetes treatment in China.

Tonghua Dongbao has been investing in the R&D of diabetes and endocrine drugs. It offers the largest number of diabetes products in the industry. It is also steadily advancing the R&D of insulin analog, ultra-rapid-acting insulin, GLP-1, OAD, among others, on the basis of its existing second- and insulin analog products. In H1 2021, the Company continued to increase its R&D investment to RMB 152 million, an increase of 46.94% YoY.

Guided by the philosophy of "Establishing a Global Brand Through Consistent Innovation", the Company will vigorously advance technological innovation, enhance its R&D platform and system, and continue to focus on drug development for diabetes and other major endocrine diseases. As China enacts policies to encourage drug innovation, the Company will double down on technological innovation and new drug R&D, in an effort to build a world-class R&D and commercialization platform and be an explorer and leader of novel drugs R&D in the field of endocrinology.


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