On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration set the groundwork for tough competition amid an already struggling insulin market by approving both Sanofi's and Novo Nordisk's combination diabetes drugs, reports Reuters.
Here are four things to know.
1. Novo Nordisk's Xultophy and Sanofi's Soliqua both combine long-acting insulin with a second type of medicine responsible for stimulating insulin production in the pancreas, according to the report.
2. Plainsboro, N.J.-based Novo Nordisk plans to launch Xultophy in the first half of 2017, taking extra me to negotiate reimbursement terms with insurers. Paris, France-based Sanofi plans to release Soliqua in January 2017.
3. Both drugmakers said the competing treatments will be sold at a lower price than the combined cost of the drugs' ingredients, according to the report.
4. Industry analysts expect Xultophy to produce annual sales of about $1.20 billion in 2021 and predict Soliqua will only reach $550 million that same year, according to consensus estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters.
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