Daewoong Pharmaceutical has signed its largest overseas commercialization agreement to date for its diabetes treatment Envlo (ingredient: enavogliflozin), marking the Korean-developed drug's entry into key markets across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
The company announced Wednesday that it has entered into a supply and commercialization agreement with Acino Pharma AG covering eight countries in the region. Including milestone payments, the total value of the deal is approximately KRW 145.2 billion.
The agreement covers Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, and Egypt. Daewoong plans to obtain regulatory approval in Saudi Arabia this year before gradually launching Envlo across the eight markets beginning in the first half of 2027.
According to the company, the agreement is the largest international licensing and commercialization deal signed since Envlo was introduced to global markets. It also represents the first expansion of a Korean-developed SGLT-2 inhibitor for diabetes into the MENA region.
Daewoong selected the region because of its significant demand for diabetes treatment. According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the Middle East and North Africa have one of the world's highest diabetes prevalence rates, with approximately one in six adults living with the disease.
Market research firm IQVIA estimates that the diabetes treatment market in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Egypt alone reached nearly KRW 3.8 trillion last year. The total addressable market is expected to be even larger when the remaining four countries included in the agreement are taken into account.
Daewoong's commercialization partner, Acino Pharma AG, is a Switzerland-based pharmaceutical company that operates under Arcera Life Sciences, a global healthcare group established by Abu Dhabi's sovereign investment company ADQ. Acino has an established commercial and distribution network across the Middle East and Africa, with a particular focus on cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
Envlo is an SGLT-2 inhibitor developed by Daewoong Pharmaceutical for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. The drug lowers blood glucose levels by preventing glucose reabsorption in the kidneys, allowing excess glucose to be excreted through urine.
The company said clinical studies demonstrated that Envlo achieved effective glucose control with a comparatively low dosage while also showing favorable results in weight management and blood pressure reduction. Daewoong added that the drug has shown promising outcomes in patients with impaired kidney function, including improvements in several renal and metabolic biomarkers, suggesting potential benefits beyond blood sugar control.
Industry experts view the agreement as another sign of the growing international competitiveness of Korea's pharmaceutical sector.
"Demand for innovative diabetes therapies continues to rise across the Middle East, where the prevalence of diabetes is among the highest globally," said a pharmaceutical industry official. "Products supported by differentiated clinical data are likely to have greater opportunities to establish themselves in the region."
Another healthcare industry analyst noted that treatments offering both glycemic control and potential cardiovascular and renal benefits are becoming increasingly important in the global diabetes market.
"Competition has shifted beyond lowering blood glucose levels," the analyst said. "Therapies that can address long-term complications are attracting growing attention from healthcare providers and regulators alike."
Daewoong Pharmaceutical said it expects the partnership with Acino to accelerate Envlo's expansion throughout the Middle East and Africa while strengthening the company's ambition to develop the drug into a globally recognized blockbuster therapy.
