Lilly and BI Close In On Diabetes Market Lead

With the recent approval of Jardiance in the US, Eli Lilly and partner Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) “have taken another step towards owning the most comprehensive diabetes portfolio in the industry”, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.

Jardiance is expected  to be competitive in a market set to more than double in value over the next 10 years, driven primarily by the dramatic increase in disease prevalence. Although the type 2 diabetes market is crowded with ‘me-too’ drugs, GlobalData’s Valentina Gburcik comments that “Eli Lilly and BI have already proved themselves experts at successfully marketing such treatments. This has been demonstrated by Tradjenta… Despite its third-to-market status, Tradjenta is still stealing patient share from Merck’s Januvia.”

While one of Lilly’s main insulin products, Humalog, lost patent protection in 2013 and is about to face stiff competition from biosimilars and ultra-fast formulations of the same drug, the Lilly and BI partnership is strategically placed to be a future diabetes leader, says Gburcik,

“The companies will soon market drugs from every anti-diabetes class, which will strengthen their relationship with buyers,” she adds.