An injection-style obesity drug is being usedGETTY IMAGES BANK
Competition in the obesity drug market is shifting from how much weight a drug can take off to how well it suits each patient, a change that is starting to reshape Korea’s market.
As criteria for choosing treatments for individual patients become more refined, Korea’s weight-loss market is expected to see significant change, with Novo Nordisk seeking insurance coverage of Wegovy for some high-risk patients and Hanmi Pharmaceutical launching its homegrown obesity drug, Eppe.
Novo Nordisk Korea recently submitted an application for national health insurance coverage of Wegovy to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA), according to the pharmaceutical industry Thursday. The application reportedly covers patients with obesity accompanied by cardiovascular disease and those with severe obesity. Eli Lilly Korea reapplied in June for coverage of Mounjaro for adults with type 2 diabetes.
Hanmi has finalized pricing for Eppe ahead of its launch at the end of this month. The supply price for the first four weeks, at 2-milligram and 4-milligram doses, is 129,800 won ($98), and the four-week supply price at the 10-milligram maintenance dose is about 299,200 won. The initial four-week price is about half that of Wegovy and Mounjaro.
“Considering price and treatment stage, losing weight first with Wegovy or Mounjaro and then switching to Eppe to maintain weight could become a niche,” industry insiders said.
The global obesity drug market is expected to become more segmented by treatment goal and patient characteristics. Drugmakers are shifting from developing a single obesity drug candidate to building portfolios of candidates that work in different ways, according to a recent report by pharmaceutical market research firm IQVIA on the obesity market outlook to 2035. Companies are expanding beyond GLP-1 and GIP-based drugs to other classes, such as amylin-based drugs that regulate appetite.
Novo Nordisk is developing CagriSema, which combines GLP-1 and amylin, while Eli Lilly and Company is developing retatrutide, which acts on GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon at once, and the amylin-based eloralintide. If these drugs succeed, the market could divide by treatment goal, including initial weight loss, long-term weight maintenance, muscle preservation and cardiovascular risk management, according to the report.
The report also projected that the market could eventually move toward personalized treatment, in which patients choose an obesity drug based on drug response, body composition such as fat and muscle, and whether a drug improves accompanying conditions. It added that blood test results and individual metabolic characteristics can be used to predict which obesity drug a patient will respond well to.
Eppe Auto Injector by Hanmi PharmaceuticalHANMI PHARMACEUTICAL
LEE JEONG-MIN
The rapid change in the obesity drug market is driven by its rapid growth. Prescriptions of Wegovy and Mounjaro checked through Korea’s Drug Utilization Review system rose from 1.22 million last year to 1.86 million in the first half of this year, according to HIRA. IQVIA projected that the global obesity treatment market will grow about 40 percent, from $66 billion last year to $92 billion this year at list prices. As the market expands, more drugmakers are eyeing it and a wider variety of obesity drugs are emerging.
Personalized care is also expanding beyond drugs. Eli Lilly is working with wearable maker Oura to help obesity drug users track health indicators such as sleep, activity and recovery. Hanmi is developing a digital combination drug that pairs Eppe with a digital medical device to help patients improve exercise, diet and lifestyle habits.
Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar predicted in a recent interview with Reuters that patients are starting to learn which GLP-1 treatment suits them better, and the market will become more segmented as more new drugs emerge. “As you foresee the future of GLP-1s and obesity and weight-loss drugs, it will not be Coke versus Pepsi. It will be Coke and Pepsi and Fanta and Dr Pepper and Red Bull. People are thirsty, and they can make their choices.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
