LG Life Sciences, the biopharmaceuticals unit of LG Group, said Wednesday it plans to begin selling its self-developed diabetes treatment Zemiglo in five countries in Central America and India starting in March.

The scheduled launch comes after the Korean drugmaker sealed a licensing partnership with French-based pharma giant Sanofi and Mexico’s Stendhal in 2013 to distribute and market the new diabetes drug in 104 countries globally.

Sanofi will handle Zemiglo’s local marketing in India whereas Stendhal will take charge of the drug’s sales in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Ecuador and Costa Rica starting from March.


LG Life Sciences said it is looking to launch the new diabetes drug in Kazakhstan, Nigeria and Kuwait in the near future, where the drug has already received official sales approval.

“We plan to strengthen our ties with our partnering firms to ensure that Zemiglo can take the lead in the market upon its introduction in these countries,” LG Life Sciences said in a statement.

Zemiglo is unlikely to be launched in the U.S. and Europe, which make up a majority of the world’s pharmaceutical market, in the near future, as the Korean drugmaker has yet to select partnering firms to oversee its sales in those regions, according to LG.

“There are difficulties in launching Zemiglo in the U.S. and Europe, given similar diabetes treatments have already taken up a large portion of these markets,” an LG Life Sciences spokesperson told The Korea Herald.

Exclusively developed by LG Life Sciences, Zemiglo (gemigliptin) is a Type II diabetes drug that lowers and controls a patient’s blood sugar levels. Delivering treatment effects under just one 50-milligram tablet a day, the drug boasts heightened patient convenience, according to LG.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)