Hanmi's new obesity drug to launch this month at half Mounjaro's price

SEOUL, October 15 (AJP) - Hanmi Pharmaceutical is expected to stoke fierce price competition as it prepares to launch its new obesity treatment as early as this month, with a first-month supply priced at 129,800 won (US$97), roughly half the cost of rival drug Mounjaro at its lowest dose.

According to industry sources on Thursday, the South Korean pharmaceutical company has set Epe's initial supply prices at an affordable level ahead of its domestic launch.

The once-weekly injection starts at 2 mg for the first two weeks before increasing to 4 mg for the next two weeks, bringing the first-month supply price to 129,800 won. That is roughly half the 270,000 won price of Mounjaro, developed by Eli Lilly, at its lowest dose and below the approximately 210,000 won cost of the starter dose of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy.

However, patients are likely to pay somewhat more once distribution costs and additional charges from hospitals and pharmacies are added, with first-month out-of-pocket costs estimated at 140,000 to 200,000 won.
 

The price of Epe, which is not covered by national health insurance, rises with higher doses, reaching nearly 300,000 won over four weeks at the 10 mg maintenance dose, still below the cost of rival drugs on the market.

Epe's lower starting price could attract patients who have delayed or discontinued obesity treatment due to high costs, intensifying competition in the domestic weight-loss drug market. However, with debate heating up over national health insurance coverage for Wegovy, the price gap could narrow for eligible patients.

Epe is South Korea's first domestically developed GLP-1 receptor agonist for obesity treatment.