'Easy to Eat and Easy to Lose' Miracle Diet Pill Set to Land in Korea Soon [News Terms]

Obesity treatment drugs that gained attention after being taken by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, are expected to land in South Korea as early as next month.

Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk is preparing the necessary procedures to launch the obesity treatment drug 'Wegovy' in Korea.

Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical company, 2nd type diabetes treatment drug 'Ozempic' [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Ozempic is a glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 receptor agonist based on the active ingredient semaglutide. Semaglutide was originally approved as an adjunct medication for blood sugar control in type 2 diabetes, which requires diet and exercise. This semaglutide ingredient was found to be effective for weight loss as well, making it famous as an obesity treatment drug. Semaglutide, a GLP-1 hormone analog released when food is consumed, stays longer in the body to provide a feeling of fullness and suppress appetite. Wegovy is an obesity treatment drug made by Novo Nordisk using the same ingredient. Wegovy was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2021 and launched in June of that year. It is said that obese patients who receive weekly injections for 68 weeks achieve an average weight loss of 15%. Ozempic's third-quarter sales increased by 56% to $3.4 billion (about 4.5 trillion KRW). Wegovy's sales surged 734% year-on-year to $1.37 billion (about 1.8 trillion KRW). Due to the popularity of obesity treatment drugs, Novo Nordisk surpassed European heavyweight LVMH to become the company with the highest market capitalization this year.

Obesity treatment drug "Wegovy" by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

People are paying attention to Ozempic and Wegovy because of their excellent weight loss effects and ease of use. Novo Nordisk stated that Wegovy has a better weight loss effect than their existing obesity treatment drug Saxenda. Saxenda has been the number one obesity treatment drug in Korea since 2019. Wegovy is also easier to use. Saxenda must be administered daily, but Wegovy is injected once a week for six months to a year, resulting in an average weight loss of about 10%. The price is three times that of Saxenda (500,000 KRW per month). Novo Nordisk and international researchers including Harvard University also published research results showing that semaglutide reduces mortality from all causes, including cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular diseases, by 19%. Novo Nordisk's diabetes and obesity treatment drugs have been launched in seven countries including the U.S. and Japan.

Eli Lilly's Type 2 Diabetes Treatment 'Mounjaro' [Image Source=Reuters Yonhap News]

As GLP-1 class drugs, which started as diabetes treatments, gain popularity as obesity treatments, latecomers have also entered this market. U.S. pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly launched the type 2 diabetes treatment Mounjaro. Mounjaro was approved by the FDA in 2022. Mounjaro also has weight loss effects, and the company received FDA approval for the obesity treatment drug Zepbound, which contains the same ingredient, in November last year. Eli Lilly's sales of Mounjaro and Zepbound in the second quarter of this year totaled $4.343 billion (about 5.9 trillion KRW).

Although the launch in Korea has been delayed due to supply shortages, the pharmaceutical industry expects that Wegovy and others could be launched domestically as early as next month. Novo Nordisk Korea announced in April that it would prioritize the Korean launch. Ozempic and Wegovy received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2022 and April of this year, respectively. Mounjaro was approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in June last year.