As "minimizing muscle loss" emerges as a new competitive point in the global anti-obesity drug market, Korea's pharmaceutical and biotech corporations are accelerating development of next-generation obesity drugs.
Existing glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) class obesity drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro are leading the market with strong weight-loss effects, but a key limitation is that muscle can decrease along with fat.
In response, Korea's pharmaceutical and biotech sector is focusing on developing next-generation obesity drugs that reduce weight while maintaining muscle mass.
On the 1st, according to the industry, the muscle loss issue is emerging as a core topic in the global anti-obesity drug market. In turn, global drugmakers as well as domestic corporations are entering the race to develop next-generation obesity drugs that can maintain or increase muscle mass.
Muscle raises basal metabolic rate, plays an important role in weight control and blood sugar management, and is involved in cardiovascular disease. A rapid decline in muscle mass can raise the risk of various metabolic diseases as well as disk problems and arthritis. As activity levels drop, there is also a possibility that age-related diseases such as dementia could progress quickly.
Denmark's Novo Nordisk (Wegovy) and the United States' Eli Lilly and Company (Mounjaro), which currently dominate the obesity drug market, are also developing next-generation obesity drugs with enhanced muscle-preserving effects.
Novo is developing "CagriSema," a combination of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy, and the amylin analog cagrilintide. The goal is to enhance weight-loss effects beyond existing GLP-1 therapies while reducing muscle loss.
Lilly is developing "retatrutide," a triple agonist that acts simultaneously on GLP-1, gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP), and glucagon (GCG) receptors. The core development direction is to maximize weight loss while minimizing reductions in lean body mass.
Since making a strategic equity investment in ABL Bio in November last year, Lilly has expanded its interest into muscle-related diseases. ABL Bio has said it will expand the disease targets of its bispecific antibody platform "Grabody-B" to muscle-related diseases such as sarcopenia caused by side effects of obesity treatments. The company is focusing on the fact that insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF1R), the key target of Grabody-B, is highly expressed in muscle tissue.
Latecomer domestic pharmaceutical and biotech corporations are also joining the competition to develop next-generation obesity drugs that emphasize muscle preservation.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical is the most aggressive corporation in developing muscle-increasing anti-obesity drugs. The company plans to present eight studies on two obesity drug candidates at the American Diabetes Association (ADA 2026) meeting to be held in New Orleans, United States, from July 5-8.
First, the UCN2-based obesity drug candidate "HM17321" is designed to selectively reduce fat while inducing increases in muscle mass. UCN2 is known not only for cardiovascular protection but also for directly acting on skeletal muscle to induce hypertrophy. A phase 1 trial is underway in the United States.
Unveiled for the first time at this meeting, "HM500197" is a peptide candidate that inhibits myostatin, a protein that regulates muscle growth. Myostatin suppresses muscle growth, and blocking it can be expected to increase muscle mass.
Separately, Hanmi Pharmaceutical is conducting a phase 3 trial of "Efpeglenatide," known as a "Korean-style obesity drug," with the goal of launching in the second half.
Celltrion on the 29th disclosed the development status of "CT-G32," a quadruple agonist obesity drug that acts simultaneously on four receptors including GLP-1.
The company has begun full-scale toxicology studies in nonhuman primates and aims to maximize weight-loss effects while improving patient-to-patient variability in weight loss, muscle loss, and durability of effect—limitations cited for existing GLP-1 therapies. The strategy is to develop it as a metabolic disease treatment platform that comprehensively regulates fat, muscle, and energy metabolism, going beyond a simple weight-loss therapy.
Celltrion said that in nonclinical studies it confirmed superior weight-loss effects at the same dose compared with a comparator under prior development, and also obtained results showing preservation of lean body mass (LBM), including muscle. The company plans to begin global clinical development in earnest after submitting an investigational new drug (IND) application in the first half of next year.
Ildong Pharmaceutical is also pursuing development of a next-generation obesity treatment that reduces muscle loss through its subsidiary, Unovia. The company's "ID110521156" is a small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist designed based on the structure of danuglipron, Pfizer's oral obesity drug candidate.
It has completed a phase 1 trial in Korea and is preparing for a global phase 2 trial. The company said it optimized the chemical structure to overcome the limitations of existing drugs. In particular, body composition analysis showed a trend of decreased body fat while lean body mass was maintained or increased, indicating potential to address the muscle loss problem cited as a drawback of existing GLP-1 class obesity treatments.
ProGen, an affiliate of Yuhan, has also entered the race to develop treatments for obesity and metabolic diseases. It is developing "PG-102," a dual agonist that binds simultaneously to GLP-1 and GLP-2 receptors. Leveraging GLP-1's weight-loss effects and GLP-2's role in intestinal mucosal repair and nutrient absorption, the goal is healthy weight loss with minimal muscle loss.
An industry official said, "The competitive axis of the obesity drug market is shifting from simple weight loss to muscle preservation and improved metabolic health," adding, "Going forward, the core competitiveness of next-generation obesity drugs will be whether fat was reduced and muscle maintained, rather than how much total weight was lost."