Hanmi Pharmaceutical(128940)'s independently developed anti-obesity drug "Eppe (EPPE, ingredient name Efpeglenatide)" is nearing launch, and market attention is focused on the "supply price."
The glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) obesity drug market, which has changed the paradigm of obesity treatment, is currently dominated by Wegovy from Denmark-based Novo Nordisk and Mounjaro from U.S.-based Eli Lilly and Company. Attention is on whether the arrival of the first Korea-made GLP-1 obesity treatment will trigger price competition and whether global drugmakers will actually respond on price.
◇ Lilly, Novo on alert over Eppe price
According to the pharmaceutical industry on the 24th, Hanmi Pharmaceutical's new anti-obesity drug "Eppe" is expected to launch by year-end at the latest.
Eppe was designated for Global Innovative product Fast Track (GIFT), under which the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety prioritizes innovative drugs to shorten review times.
Taking the procedures into account, expectations are that approval could come around Oct. The company also said, "As soon as approval is granted, we plan to launch as early as Oct. or, at the latest, within the year."
Following the timing of Eppe's launch, the medical community and the securities market are focused on how much lower it will be priced than Mounjaro and Wegovy, which currently split the domestic market.
Drugs not covered by national health insurance do not have prices set based on reimbursed drug list prices. Currently, new anti-obesity drugs are non-reimbursed, so patients pay the full price, and the out-of-pocket amount varies by medical institution or prescribing conditions. Because obesity often requires long-term treatment, a monthly price difference of tens of thousands of won can feel significant to patients.
According to a domestic healthcare platform's tally of Seoul-area pharmacies, the average per-pack price of "Mounjaro" by dose was △2.5 mg 300,500 won, △5 mg 394,210 won, △7.5 mg 547,100 won, △10 mg 546,010 won, △12.5 mg 699,730 won, and △15 mg 701,780 won. The average hospital consultation fee is 21,570 won. Wegovy runs from the low 200,000 won range to around 400,000 won per month depending on the dose.
Some in the industry expect Eppe's price could be set at about half of Mounjaro's initial dosing price in the 300,000 won-per-month range. Others say the 100,000 won range will be difficult when considering research and development investment expense, manufacturing costs, and revenue.
Korean subsidiaries of global pharmaceutical companies with obesity drugs are also closely watching Hanmi Pharmaceutical's strategy. Depending on Eppe's price and market reaction, it could influence the pricing policies of Wegovy and Mounjaro.
An industry official said, "Because Eppe's price could affect pricing policies for existing Asian markets and global obesity drugs beyond the domestic market, Eli Lilly and Company and Novo Nordisk are also on high alert."
Hanmi Pharmaceutical has also made price competitiveness a key battleground. Compared with Wegovy and Mounjaro, which are imported as finished goods from overseas, the company plans to leverage its domestic production base to secure the market by emphasizing strengths in price and supply stability.
However, Hanmi Pharmaceutical says it has not yet decided Eppe's supply price. It is understood that even among group executives there are differing views on pricing strategy. Because the competitor's follow-up response after Eppe's launch must also be considered, there is a mood of caution against the strategy leaking early.
A potential shift in strategies by Eli Lilly and Company and Novo Nordisk following Eppe's launch is also a key point to watch. An industry official said, "Once Eppe launches, I ultimately expect Wegovy and Mounjaro to move to cut prices as well."
◇ "Treatment effect" as important as price
Competitiveness in the pharmaceutical market is not determined by price alone. When patients and clinicians choose a drug, the most important criteria are treatment effect and side effects.
Wegovy and Mounjaro have strengths in their large-scale prescription experience and accumulated clinical data in global markets. However, weight-loss effects vary by patient, and there are continued cases of treatment discontinuation due to expense burdens, bodily responses, and side effects.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical expressed confidence based on safety and treatment experience confirmed in clinical data on Korean patients. According to the company, in a phase 3 study of 448 Korean adult patients with obesity, the Efpeglenatide group showed an average 9.75% reduction in body weight from baseline after 40 weeks. In the treatment group, 79% lost at least 5% of their weight, and about half lost at least 10%.
Wegovy (semaglutide) from Novo Nordisk showed an average 14.9% reduction in a representative 68-week trial, while Mounjaro (tirzepatide) from Eli Lilly and Company showed an average 16.0%–22.5% reduction by dose in a 72-week trial. Because treatment duration, patient composition, and other trial conditions differed across studies, there are limits to simply comparing weight-loss effects among the therapies.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical said that, compared with other obesity drug clinical data, gastrointestinal adverse reactions such as vomiting and nausea were relatively fewer or milder. Eppe applies the "Lapscovery" technology, which allows the drug to be released gradually to sustain efficacy longer.
The company is also pursuing a strategy to combine the drug with digital therapeutic solutions. The aim is to target the shift in obesity treatment from short-term weight loss to long-term weight management and lifestyle improvement.
Ultimately, observers say Eppe's market foothold will depend on how quickly it can win the choices of clinicians and patients in a domestic market preoccupied by global big pharma.
☞ GLP-1 obesity drugs
GLP-1 is a hormone secreted by the intestines after meals that acts on the brain's appetite control center to increase satiety and reduce appetite. At the same time, it slows gastric emptying to keep food in the stomach longer and promotes insulin secretion in the pancreas to help control blood sugar. GLP-1 obesity treatments mimic or enhance these GLP-1 actions to reduce food intake and drive weight loss.