LG Chemical has launched a symposium to promote its antidiabetics drug Zemiglo (ingredient: gemigliptin), at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Lisbon Thursday.

The scholastic event will be an opportunity for the Korean chemical manufacturer to sell its drug to the global market, the company said.

LG Chem officials explained how Zemiglo could inhibit dipeptidyl peptidase-4, or DPP-4, at the symposium, on the sideline of the 53rd EASD annual meeting where 20,000 participants including medical doctors and officials of pharmaceutical firms around the world attended, it said.

Under the topic, “The Solution for Type 2 Diabetes Patients Progressed from Early Stage,” Korean medical doctors presented their clinical data, collected while testing Zemiglo.

“After Metformin is prescribed, a DPP-4 inhibitor is mostly prescribed as the second-line medication for the treatment of type 2 diabetes patients,” said Park Jeong-hyeon, a professor at the Busan Paik Hospital, at the symposium. “The DPP-4 inhibitor shows good results in glucose control and reduction of glucose fluctuation. It also has less risk for usage limit in patients with a new disorder,”

The 2017 American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) guidelines also referred the DPP-4 inhibitor as a drug with low risk of side effects, he added

Professor Im Soo of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital emphasized the efficacy and safety of Zemiglo, presenting “STABLE study” and “GUARD Study.” The former proved the drug’s efficacy to reduce glucose fluctuations, and the latter showed the drug’s function to protect the patient’s kidneys.

“Compared to control drugs Sitagliptin or Sulfonylurea, Zemiglo proved excellent efficacy in bringing down glucose fluctuations. On patients with the new disorder, it also reduced their glucose level and albuminuria,” Im said.

Professor Lee Eun-jeong at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital said Zemiglo lowered the risk of developing cardiovascular disorders, representing analyzed data of the National Health Insurance Corp.

Lee Seung-won, executive director of LG Chem’s life science business division, said, “We will enhance our global marketing activities, such as attending an international scholastic meeting, to make Korea’s first DPP-4 inhibitor Zemiglo become an international drug.”

LG Chem started selling Zemiglo in Korea in 2012. The following year, the company agreed with global pharmaceutical firms Sanopi and Stental export the drug to overseas markets. LG received approvals to sell Zemiglo in India, Thailand and Southern American countries.

This year, the company plans to launch Zemiro, a combination drug of Zemiglo and Rosuvastatin to treat dyslipidemia, a condition with abnormal lipids in the blood.

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