Is diabetes on the retreat? This development may have the answer
Hua Medicine and Bayer, the partners in this venture, sell its novel drug dorzagliatin seeing millions turning to this treatment.
The reason why it is little known in the West is that it is available only to Chinese patients, as it is still under evaluation by other health agencies around the world. In China, dorzagliatin tablets are marketed as HuaTangNing.
Dorzagliatin is a global first-in-class with the ability to send diabetes into remission by restoring select Type 2 diabetes patients’ ability to autonomously self-regulate glucose levels (glycemic control) and maintain a healthy glucose balance (glucose homeostasis).
This means that, unlike other diabetes drugs in the market, dorzagliatin is a ‘smart drug’ that can treat the root causes of diabetes.
This breakthrough was the focus of a recent scientific paper that built on past research, publications, and large clinical trials.
The paper titled “Diabetes remission in drug-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes after dorzagliatin treatment: A prospective cohort study” outlines the ability of this drug to help patients achieve blood glucose balance, leading to drug-free diabetes remission.
This paper published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism relies on data from a 52-week study to show how patients with Type 2 diabetes that use HuaTangNing can achieve remission and maintain it after a year, without the need to use other drugs.
A year on the market
Sales began in mainland China in October 2022, ramping up through early 2023 reaching US$9.62 million, four times the amount compared to a year earlier.
It is expected to file an Investigational New Drug application in the U.S. in early 2024 for its second generation glucokinase activator, a first step toward eventual sale in the country.
How the treatment works
Dorzagliatin is a novel allosteric glucokinase (GK) activator. The GK enzyme acts as a glucose ‘sensor’ to monitor blood sugar levels, helping the body maintain healthy glucose levels. The GK enzyme signals to the pancreas to release insulin when glucose levels are rising. Insulin assists cells absorbing glucose.
The GK ‘sensor’ does not work efficiently in Type 2 diabetes patients. Dorzagliatin is the first drug approved in a major market that can address one of the root causes of Type 2 diabetes and with the potential to induce clinical remission.
China’s National Medical Products Administration approved the drug in September 2022 with a broad label for Type 2 diabetes patients and an emphasis on improving beta cell function.
Bayer’s Role
The company is partnered with German drug giant Bayer and has said in a recent statement that it has received US$113 million as part of the agreement with the European company. This will bolster the company’s global expansion plans.
Bayer is a global company with its core business in health care and nutrition. In 2022, the business employed around 101,000 people and had sales of US$55.2 billion and research and development investments of US$6.8 billion.
