Metformin-based antidiabetic drugs showed exceptional growth in the prescription drug market. Both metformin combination and single agent drugs expanded their prescription volume and maintained the credibility in the clinical scene, regardless of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak and impurity contamination incident.

On Feb. 9, a pharmaceutical market research firm UBIST told the outpatient prescription volume in metformin last year marked 535.7 billion won growing 9.5 percent from the previous year. The year 2019 showed a growth of 7.3 percent. Metformin, a type of biguanides, is used vastly on Type 2 diabetic patients as a first-line treatment to control the blood sugar level.