Hanmi's Epe opens at about 180,000 won for four weeks, undercutting Wegovy and Mounjaro

The 180,000 won opening

The first four weeks of Epe cost between 165,000 and 200,000 won at 10 clinics in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. The average came in slightly above 180,000 won.

For Korean patients, Epe is the first domestically made GLP-1 obesity drug and the cheapest entry point of the three. It also puts direct price pressure on Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, which have set the market's terms so far. The full-course bill remains unknown. Epe's price climbs with the dose, and no insurer covers any of the three products.

At the same institutions, Wegovy 0.25 mg cost 223,000 to 270,000 won for the first four weeks. Mounjaro 2.5 mg cost 285,000 to 320,000 won. On those figures Epe's opening month is about 75% of Wegovy's cost and about 60% of Mounjaro's, roughly 25% and 40% cheaper respectively. The comparison uses out-of-pocket payments including consultation fees, not list prices. Hanmi's supply price for the first four weeks is 129,800 won, and clinic fees and management charges are added on top.

The dosing schedule explains the low entry price. Patients receive two 2 mg doses and two 4 mg doses in the first four weeks, then step up.

Per-dose supply prices run from 24,200 won for 2 mg to 74,800 won for 10 mg. Prescriptions began at selected clinics on 29 October. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approved Epe on 7 October.

Epe is a once-weekly subcutaneous injection of efpeglenatide, supplied in five strengths from 2 mg to 10 mg. Hanmi developed it in-house, from candidate discovery through Phase 3 trials. It makes the drug at its Pyeongtaek plant. That domestic production lets the company price below imported rivals, according to DongA Science.

Why the first month is not the whole bill

The headline price does not survive a dose increase. DongA Science flagged the reversal on 29 October.

Epe's supply price rises to 228,800 won at 6 mg, 277,200 won at 8 mg and 299,200 won at 10 mg. Hanmi's schedule sets the 10 mg maintenance price at 299,200 won from week 13 onward. At those levels Epe costs more than Wegovy's low dose at about 216,000 won. It also costs more than Mounjaro's low dose at about 278,000 won. A patient who assumes the domestic drug is cheaper at every step can end up paying more than for a low-dose foreign product. None of the three is reimbursed by national health insurance. Patients carry the full cost, and hospital pricing varies.

The gap between supply price and what patients pay is not trivial. The first four weeks cost 129,800 won at supply, but the surveyed clinics charged 165,000 to 200,000 won. Each hospital sets its own fees. The same drug can differ by tens of thousands of won between two clinics in the same city.

A Korean trial, a smaller effect

The clinical case rests on a trial run entirely in Korea. It enrolled 448 obese Korean adults and ran for 40 weeks.

Average weight loss in the treatment group was 9.75%, and Hanmi says some patients lost up to 30%. The company argues that raising the dose gradually cut gastrointestinal side effects such as nausea and vomiting. Critics told BigGo Finance the result is smaller than Mounjaro's and Wegovy's and that more efficacy and safety data are needed. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approved Epe for weight management in obese or overweight adults without diabetes. The approval covers use alongside a low-calorie diet and exercise.

Hanmi's argument is that the dosing and tolerability data come from the population that will actually use the drug. That is a narrower evidence base than a global trial, and it is also the company's main marketing line.

Supply is the other constraint. The first shipment was limited, so Epe is available only at some hospitals and has not reached pharmacies.

The price war and the insurance question

Epe arrives in a market that has already shown it can move on price. When Mounjaro launched in South Korea in August last year, Novo Nordisk cut Wegovy's supply price by as much as 42%.

Reimbursement is the bigger variable. Novo Nordisk applied to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service last month for coverage of Wegovy in patients with severe obesity and related conditions. Eli Lilly's South Korean unit is reportedly seeking coverage for Mounjaro in adults with type 2 diabetes. If either is granted, eligible patients' out-of-pocket costs fall. Epe's position as the cheaper option then shifts. Hanmi is entering a domestic obesity treatment market that Herald Business estimated at around 2 trillion won a year. The market was previously split between the two foreign products.

The market has been a two-way split. Epe turns it into a three-way race, with price as the opening move.

What happens next

The rollout is still partial. Prescriptions at tertiary and general hospitals, and collection at pharmacies, are expected to take at least another two to three months as supply expands.

The reimbursement applications from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are pending, and a decision would reset the comparison for eligible patients. Hanmi says it will compete on Korean-specific clinical data and price. Analysts are watching whether Epe keeps its opening advantage once patients move to higher doses.