Daewoong Pharmaceutical's diabetes treatment Envlo (active ingredient enavogliflozin) is entering the markets of eight major countries across the Middle East and Africa (MENA), including Saudi Arabia.
Daewoong Pharmaceutical (co-CEOs Park Sung-soo and Lee Chang-jae) said Tuesday it had signed an export supply agreement for Envlo with its partner Acino Pharma AG, covering eight major Middle Eastern and African countries including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The total contract value, including milestones, is approximately 145.2 billion won in Korean currency.
Starting from this agreement, Daewoong plans to obtain product approval in Saudi Arabia this year and, from the first half of 2027, to secure approvals and launch the drug in eight countries, led by Saudi Arabia. The eight countries are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq and Egypt.
The agreement is the largest signed since Envlo's global commercialization and marks the first case of a Korean SGLT-2 inhibitor diabetes drug entering the Middle East and Africa market. According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the MENA region currently has one in six adults living with diabetes, making it a vast market with the world's highest prevalence.
According to pharmaceutical market research firm IQVIA, the total diabetes treatment market last year across the four countries where data can be compiled — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Egypt — amounted to 3.7946 trillion won.
Partner company Acino is an affiliate of Arcera Group, a global healthcare company established by ADQ (Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company), a major sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates. Based in Switzerland, it holds a strong sales and distribution network in the Middle East and Africa region and is developing cardiovascular and metabolic diseases as its core business.
Envlo is a type 2 diabetes treatment in the SGLT-2 inhibitor class developed by Daewoong Pharmaceutical. It is a Korean-developed new drug that lowers blood sugar by inhibiting glucose reabsorption in the kidneys and excreting glucose through urine. The company said this class is expected to be highly competitive in the MENA market, as it offers strong blood sugar-lowering effects and safety, along with therapeutic benefits drawing attention in the areas of kidney disease and heart failure.
"This agreement is the largest among Envlo's global export cases, and it is highly significant in that it marks the first entry into the Middle East and Africa by a Korean SGLT-2 inhibitor diabetes drug," Daewoong Pharmaceutical CEO Park Sung-soo said. "We will collaborate with our partner Acino, which has proven business capabilities and sales strength in the cardiovascular and metabolic disease fields, to rapidly expand Envlo's presence in the Middle East and Africa region and develop it into a global blockbuster drug."
