Published : Aug. 2, 2017 - 15:07
LG Chem said Wednesday that South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety had approved Zemiro, a combination drug that simultaneously treats diabetes and dyslipidemia, a condition in which an abnormal amount of lipids exist in the blood.
Developed by LG Chem’s biopharmaceuticals unit, Zemiro is a new combination tablet that merges LG’s diabetes drug Zemiglo -- a Diepeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor -- with the lipid reduction drug ingredient rosuvastatin.
LG Chem`s production plant in Osong, North Chungcheong Province (LG Chem)
This is the first time that a combination of this kind has been approved in Korea. Merck & Co., known as MSD outside the US and Canada, also has a similar combination drug that was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2011 -- Juvisync, which consists of a DPP-4 inhibitor merged with a statin drug.
However, MSD’s Juvisync is currently unavailable in Korea, making Zemiro the only diabetes drug combining a DPP-4 inhibitor with a statin drug, according to LG Chem.
According to LG Chem, just one tablet of Zemiro can benefit diabetes patients with dyslipidemia who previously had to take multiple medications to treat their symptoms.
The Korean drugmaker plans to start selling the drug -- to be available in a combination of 50 milligrams of Zemiglo with either 5 mg, 10 mg or 20 mg of rosuvastatin -- from the fourth quarter, following insurance registration procedures.
LG Chem currently has no plans to export Zemiro or to submit it to drug regulators overseas, a company representative said.
By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)