Decision Resources: Type 2 diabetes market in China to nearly double by 2014

BURLINGTON, Mass. — A growing drug-treated population will cause the Type 2 diabetes drug market in China to increase to $2.5 billion by 2014, according to a new report by Decision Resources.

The Type 2 diabetes market in China totaled $1.4 billion in 2009, Decision Resources said.

"China now has the largest Type 2 diabetes patient population in the world, and is the third-largest market for Type 2 diabetes agents behind the United States and Japan," said Decision Resources analyst Jing Wu. "The Type 2 diabetes market in China will continue to grow between 2009 and 2014 at an annual rate of 13%, which is faster than expected growth in the United States or Japan."

Decision Resources also noted that while metformin continues to be the most widely prescribed agent in China because of its low cost, newly launched DPP-IV inhibitors, such as Merck's Januvia, Novartis's Galvus and Bristol-Myers Squibb/AstraZeneca's Onglyza, as well as GLP-1 analogues, including Novo Nordisk's Victoza and Eli Lilly/Amylin/Alkerme's Bydureon, will be used more frequently.