"Obesity Treatments as Future Growth Engines" Hanmi Pharm and Daewon Pharm's Declaration of Ambition

Korea-US Collaboration in Phase 3 Clinical Trials
Daewon Develops 'Patch-Type Treatment'
Dong-A ST and Yuhan Join In

This year, competition among domestic pharmaceutical companies in developing obesity treatments is expected to intensify. Although they started later than multinational pharmaceutical companies that led the global pharmaceutical market with obesity treatments last year, large domestic pharmaceutical companies are also joining this trend. The industry is particularly focusing on Hanmi Pharmaceutical and Daewon Pharmaceutical.

According to FnGuide on the 3rd, Hanmi Pharmaceutical's 2024 sales (average of securities firms' forecasts over the past three months) are expected to reach 1.5938 trillion KRW, with operating profit of 235.8 billion KRW, representing increases of 8.9% and 11.3%, respectively, compared to the previous year (estimated sales of 1.463 trillion KRW and operating profit of 211.8 billion KRW). Hanmi Pharmaceutical identifies obesity treatments as a future growth engine. In his New Year's address on the 2nd, Song Young-sook, Chairman of Hanmi Group, highlighted the conversion of 'Epeglenatide,' originally developed as a diabetes treatment, into an obesity treatment, and the launch of the five new obesity drugs under the 'H.O.P Project' as key business focuses for this year.

Epeglenatide was licensed out to the multinational pharmaceutical company Sanofi in 2015 as a diabetes treatment but was returned in 2020. Hanmi Pharmaceutical has revived this drug as an obesity treatment and is conducting Phase 3 clinical trials. Like Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound, it is a once-weekly injectable form, with plans to launch it as a 'Korean-customized obesity treatment' by 2026.

A Hanmi Pharmaceutical representative stated, "Overseas major obesity treatments such as Wegovy and Zepbound are used for patients with severe obesity and are priced very high, but Hanmi Pharmaceutical's Epeglenatide is planned to be priced relatively affordably while achieving appropriate weight loss."

Meanwhile, Daewon Pharmaceutical is developing a patch-type obesity treatment.

According to FnGuide, Daewon Pharmaceutical's sales this year are estimated at 561.3 billion KRW, with operating profit of 40.7 billion KRW, representing increases of 8.0% and 12.4%, respectively, compared to the previous year (estimated sales of 519.6 billion KRW and operating profit of 36.2 billion KRW).

Daewon Pharmaceutical, together with domestic biotech company Lapas, applied to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety last year for Phase 1 clinical trials of 'DW-1022,' a 'microneedle patch' version of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy injectable. They plan to start clinical trials in the first quarter of this year, complete them within the year, and expect to license out the product. Unlike most currently available obesity treatments, which are injectables, DW-1022 is applied as a patch on the skin, offering greater convenience for patients. For chronic diseases requiring long-term management, such as diabetes and obesity, higher convenience in administration is advantageous for securing market share.

In addition, companies such as Dong-A ST and Yuhan Corporation have also started developing obesity treatments. Neurobo Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Dong-A ST, submitted a Phase 1 clinical trial application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the 2nd for 'DA-1726,' which is under development as an obesity treatment. The company expects to start Phase 1 trials in the first half of this year and complete them by the first half of next year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.