Professor Kim Seong-rae: Enblo proves non-inferior blood-sugar reduction, raising hopes for three-drug reimbursement

Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s Enblo has moved closer to wider insurance coverage after a clinical trial found it produced blood-sugar-lowering effects comparable to dapagliflozin in a three-drug treatment regimen.

Kim Seong-rae, a professor in the endocrinology department at Bucheon St. Mary’s Hospital, discussed the findings from ENHANCE-D, a phase 3 trial examining Enblo in combination with two other medicines. He said the drug demonstrated non-inferior glucose-lowering efficacy to dapagliflozin, an original product that already receives reimbursement.

Enblo contains enavogliflozin and belongs to the SGLT-2 inhibitor class. These drugs lower blood sugar by preventing the kidneys from reabsorbing glucose and promoting its excretion in urine. Dapagliflozin and empagliflozin are in the same class.

Daewoong developed Enblo and launched it in 2023 as South Korea’s 36th domestically developed new drug. It is also the country’s first SGLT-2 inhibitor treatment for type 2 diabetes. The drug currently faces limits on national health insurance reimbursement, particularly for three-drug combination therapy, making the trial results important for its market access prospects.

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Enblo demonstrated non-inferior blood-sugar-lowering efficacy to dapagliflozin.