SK Chemical-AZ, Joint Development of Diabetes Combination Drug Production Begins

SGLT-2 'Posiga' + DPP-4 'Sitagliptin'

SK Chemicals and AstraZeneca (AZ) have completed the development of a diabetes combination drug and have started commercial production.

On the 16th, officials from SK Discovery and AstraZeneca (AZ) celebrated the joint development agreement for a diabetes combination drug at SK Eco Hub in Pangyo, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province. Kim Yoon-ho, Head of Pharma Business at SK Chemicals; Ahn Jae-hyun, CEO of SK Chemicals; Choi Chang-won, Vice Chairman of SK Discovery; Leon Wang, Senior Vice President of AZ; Silvia Barella, President of AZ Asia Region; Ankushi Nandra, Vice President of Finance for International Markets at AZ; and Kim Sang-pyo, CEO of AstraZeneca Korea, posed for a commemorative photo.
Photo by SK Chemicals

On the 19th, SK Discovery announced that it held an event on the 16th to celebrate the first commercial production of the diabetes combination drug jointly developed by its subsidiary SK Chemicals and AZ, and to review the progress of the joint development. The event was attended by Choi Chang-won, Vice Chairman of SK Discovery, Ahn Jae-hyun, President of SK Chemicals, along with Leon Wang, Senior Vice President of AZ, and Kim Sang-pyo, President of AstraZeneca Korea.

The two companies signed a joint development agreement for the diabetes combination drug in 2020 and have continued related development. Their collaboration involved AZ supplying the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) to SK Chemicals and investing in research and development (R&D) costs, while SK Chemicals conducted R&D and domestic clinical trials. Accordingly, SK Chemicals has been conducting clinical trials for a combination drug under the development name 'SID1903,' which includes AZ’s sodium-glucose co-transporter (SGLT)-2 inhibitor 'Forxiga' (active ingredient dapagliflozin) and the dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)-4 inhibitor 'Sitagliptin.'

Going forward, the two companies plan to expand the supply countries, including Korea, through AZ’s global business network with SID1903 developed and manufactured by SK Chemicals. AZ will handle regulatory approvals as the Marketing Authorization Holder (MAH) and manage commercialization domestically and worldwide, while SK Chemicals will be responsible for production and supply of the product.

Recently, the patent for Forxiga expired, and the original Sitagliptin product 'Januvia' by MSD (Merck & Co., USA) is also expected to expire in September. Already, 86 pharmaceutical companies have received approval for generic versions of this combination. SK Chemicals and AZ are expected to obtain approval and begin sales domestically soon in line with this schedule. If SID1903 is approved, it will be the first dapagliflozin-sitagliptin combination drug containing the original Forxiga ingredient.

Leon Wang, Senior Vice President of AZ, said, “AZ believes that collaboration with various partners is a key strategy to provide more valuable solutions to patients, and we are very pleased to cooperate with SK Chemicals, a leading pharmaceutical company in Korea.” He added, “Korea is a core country for AZ’s innovation, and we hope to continue providing valuable solutions and treatments to patients through diverse collaborations.” Choi Chang-won, Vice Chairman of SK Discovery, also stated, “Being recognized for SK Chemicals’ pharmaceutical technology and production capabilities has laid the foundation to supply medicines to more countries.” He added, “Starting with the diabetes combination drug, we will strive for continuous cooperation and communication so that both companies can grow together.”

SK Group and AstraZeneca are continuously expanding their global joint projects, including the joint development of the diabetes combination drug with SK Chemicals, contract manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines with SK Bioscience, and production of diabetes treatments with SK Vitek.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.