Hanmi Pharm's obesity treatment Eppe wins domestic approval
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Thursday approved Hanmi Pharmaceutical's Eppe, Korea's first domestically developed glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)-based obesity treatment. Eppe is the 45th novel drug developed in Korea and the country's first domestically developed GLP-1-based obesity drug. It has been approved in five doses: 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 milligrams. According to the ministry, the…
On Thursday, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in South Korea approved Hanmi Pharmaceutical's Eppe, marking the country's first domestically developed GLP-1-based obesity treatment. This achievement makes Eppe the 45th novel drug developed in Korea. The injectable drug comes in five doses: 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 milligrams. According to the ministry, Eppe is designed for long-term weight management in adults struggling with obesity or overweight individuals without diabetes, to be used alongside a reduced-calorie diet and exercise.
Originally, Eppe was licensed to global pharmaceutical company Sanofi as a diabetes treatment in 2015, but the rights were returned to Hanmi Pharm in 2020. They then chose to develop the drug as their own obesity treatment. Initially, Eppe was slated to be Korea's 44th domestically developed new drug; however, an eye treatment jointly developed by Aju Pharm and GL Pharm Tech became the 45th upon approval on September 8.
With Eppe's approval, the market will see competition from leading GLP-1-based obesity treatments, including Wegovy.
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- Hanmi Pharm's obesity treatment Eppe wins domestic approval koreatimes.co.kr
