Eli Lilly ($LLY) may have laid out 2016 guidance on Tuesday that fell short of analysts' expectations. But it had good news, too: Its Type 2 diabetes med, Jardiance, has already begun stealing market share from its SGLT2 rivals since the drugmaker and partner Boehringer Ingelheim unveiled positive new cardiovascular data.
As Lilly's diabetes president, Enrique Conterno, told investors on a conference call, Jardiance's new-to-brand share of the SGLT2 market has recently jumped to 25% from 15%. That share has been climbing since the release of the results from EMPA REG, an outcomes study that showed that Jardiance--the first diabetes med to cut the combined risk of heart attack, stroke and death from cardiovascular causes in high-risk Type 2 diabetes patients--could do so by 14%.
And this is only the beginning, Conterno predicted, forecasting a couple more "inflection points" in the short-term. One of those will come when that data makes its way onto Jardiance's label, and on that front, the pharma giant has already submitted it for inclusion in both the U.S. and the EU. Conterno expects the other when the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) issue new treatment guidelines based on the study results.
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| Eli Lilly diabetes president Enrique Conterno |
Meanwhile, it's not such great news for Johnson & Johnson's ($JNJ) Invokana and AstraZeneca's ($AZN) Farxiga, Jardiance's rival meds in the SGLT2 class. J&J won't have long-term heart safety data for its product until next year, Reuters notes, while AstraZeneca will have to wait until 2019 to see if its med can measure up to Jardiance in that department. And until then, among SGLT2 therapies, Lilly will have the claim all to itself.
One company that doesn't have to worry, as far as Lilly is concerned? Merck ($MRK). According to the Indianapolis drugmaker, Jardiance's new data has had very little impact on DPP-4 drugs, such as Merck powerhouse Januvia. Instead, it said, the main class that'll feel the heat from Jardiance is sulfonylureas--generics that doctors usually prescribe earlier on in therapy.
- get more on the guidance from FiercePharma
- see Reuters' take
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