Decision Resources: Onglyza sales will boast more than $1 billion

WALTHAM, Mass. A research firm for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues projected sales of more than $1 billion for a popular Type 2 diabetes treatment in its respective market.

Decision Resources said  Onglyza, developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca, will garner peak year blockbuster sales in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Japan.

The Pharmacor advisory service finding, from the topic entitled "Type 2 Diabetes," reveals that although it does not offer significant clinical benefit over Merck's Januvia, the uptake of Onglyza will be driven by its safety and tolerability, convenient administration and lack of weight gain associated with its use. Onglyza, which along with Januvia are the only two DPP-IV inhibitors approved for Type 2 diabetes in the U.S. market, is expected to compete closely with Januvia following the decision by Bristol-Myers Squibb/AstraZeneca to set Onglyza's price equal to that of Januvia.

"DPP-IV inhibitors have excellent tolerability profiles and carry a very low risk of hypoglycemia," said Decision Resources analyst Christine Helliwell, Ph.D. "These attributes make both Onglyza and Januvia suitable for widespread use in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes."