Learnings from both Byetta and its own experience with Victoza helped Novo Nordisk develop and launch what it hopes will become a best in class therapy, with a strong life cycle management program and additional indications entering the clinic. The $12bn market for GLP-1 therapies has gotten crowded in recent years; Eli Lilly hopes its follow up to Trulicity (dulaglutide), the experimental combination product tirzepatide, a “dual glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and GLP agonist," will help it maintain a leadership position. (Also see "Brand Spotlight: Novo Nordisk’s Semaglutide" - In Vivo, 15 April, 2021.) However, new indications in areas of massive unmet need, such as Alzheimer’s and obesity, could push Novo’s semaglutide over the top in the coming years.
The Growing GLP-1 Therapy Market
Novo Nordisk was not the first biopharmaceutical company to launch a GLP-1 therapy into the market for type 2 diabetes. In fact, Amylin Pharmaceutials’ and Eli Lilly’s Byetta (exenatide) beat Novo’s Victoza (liraglutide) to market by a full five years.