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Why Novo's Saxenda is not Victoza [Medical Marketing and Media](Medical Marketing and Media Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) AN FDA ADVISORY panel said last month that the regula- tor should greenlight an obesity indication for Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 liraglutide, with a vote of 14-1 in favor. Although known to diabetics as Victoza, Novo plans to mar- ket it as Saxenda if the obesity indication is a go, meaning the firm will not look to leverage the drug's familiarity, despite Victoza being on the market since 2009. A new name also means some- what turning away from an audi- ence overlap, in that weight gain is often a concern that accompa- nies diabetes medications. Further, unlike Amgen's deno- sumab, marketed to women as the osteoporosis drug Prolia, and to men as Xgeva for bone-relat- ed issues associated with condi- tions including prostate cancer, diabetes and obesity are not perceived as female- or male- only conditions, which begs the question: why the new name? Novo spokesperson Michael Bachner told MM&M in a phone interview that it comes down to a few factors, including a differ- ence in dosage-Victoza is a 1.8mg dose for diabetes, but Sax- enda is a 3mg dose, so it is "not a new indication for Victoza." Bachner added that the appli- cation for the obesity indication was done through a separate fil- ing with the FDA as opposed to being submitted as an expansion of an already existing indication. He also notes that although the Victoza materials say the injec- tion "may help you lose weight," it is not indicated for weight-loss and selling as such would go against the FDA's label. Novo cannot discuss pric- ing prior to FDA approval of Saxenda for obesity, so it's too early to compare the cost of diabetes-indicated liraglutide vs. obesity-indicated liraglutide, but the dosage difference shows that just doubling Victoza won't be an option, since it would exceed Saxenda's 3mg. Bloomberg reported that obe- sity-indicated liraglutide could bring in $556 million in sales by 2018, on top of the $3.2 billion in the diabetes space. -Deborah Weinstein Novo's obesity-indicated GLP-1 is getting a new name (c) 2014 Haymarket Media, Inc. |