Eli Lilly and Company's glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 class obesity drug "Mounjaro" topped prescriptions in Korea, overtaking Denmark's Novo Nordisk's "Wegovy."
According to the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) on the 11th, Mounjaro (ingredient tirzepatide) recorded 97,344 prescriptions in Nov. last year, surpassing Wegovy (semaglutide, 71,333). Mounjaro overtook Wegovy just four months after launch.
Lilly launched low doses (2.5 mg, 5 mg) of Mounjaro in Korea in Aug. last year and sequentially distributed the higher doses of 7.5 mg and 10 mg from late Sept. As a result, use of Mounjaro rose sharply. In fact, prescriptions for Wegovy declined to 79,823 in Oct. last year, while Mounjaro had 79,080 prescriptions the same month. In Nov., Wegovy prescriptions fell 10.6%, while Mounjaro increased 23.1%.
Mounjaro had already surpassed Wegovy in the United States and Europe. According to Lilly's clinical results, the average weight loss rate with a high dose of Mounjaro was 20.2%, higher than Wegovy's 13.7%.
Domestic demand for GLP-1 class obesity drugs is also surging. As of Nov. last year, the two drugs had 168,677 prescriptions, up 152.5% (66,793) in four months.
However, the drug price burden—amounting to 250,000 to 500,000 won for a four-week supply—still weighs on patients, prompting calls for discussions to ease the expense burden.