Amid the Wegovy-Mounjaro price war, 'efpeglenatide' targets a launch in the second half of 2026... "Domestic production secures a stable supply"

"KRW 500,000 a month? Is that rent or a drug bill?"

At a hospital in Seoul's Gangnam district, Mr. Kim, an office worker in his 30s who had come for a diet injection, sighed as he received his prescription. A month's supply of Mounjaro 5 mg costs KRW 280,000, and higher doses run well over KRW 500,000. Wegovy costs KRW 210,000 to KRW 370,000 depending on the dose. He has poured hundreds of thousands of won into the 'Lorelei' of obesity drugs in just a few months, but he cannot stop the injections. Once you start, quitting brings the weight back.

That sigh from the many Mr. Kims may soon change. 'Efpeglenatide,' a GLP-1 obesity treatment being developed as the first of its kind by a Korean drugmaker, is set to launch in the second half of 2026. The market expects the drug to be supplied at a lower price than Wegovy and Mounjaro. Dealsite Economy TV reported that "the actual supply price of efpeglenatide is estimated to start in the mid-KRW 100,000 range," which would be up to 60% cheaper than Wegovy and Mounjaro currently on the market.

However, this is a market estimate, not the company's official pricing. Hanmi Pharmaceutical is taking a cautious stance, saying "the final price will be decided taking into account that existing obesity treatments are cutting their prices."

"No more diets that burn muscle"... a new 'muscle-guarding' drug arrives

Hanmi Pharmaceutical's obesity drug strategy is not just about a 'low price.' Efpeglenatide has shown the best cardiovascular and kidney protection among GLP-1 drugs. In a 40-week clinical trial, its weight loss rate was 8.13%, similar to Wegovy, but gastrointestinal side effects were significantly lower.

But the real trump card lies elsewhere. Hanmi Pharmaceutical is developing a novel candidate called 'HM17321.' It is not a GLP-1 drug but one with an entirely new mechanism that targets the UCN2 (urocortin 2) receptor, reducing body weight while at the same time increasing muscle mass , an effect that has been confirmed.

In experiments on obese mice, it cut body weight by 25-30% and fat mass by 71-77%, while muscle mass actually increased by 8%. It is seen as a game changer that could solve 'muscle loss,' the biggest side effect of existing obesity drugs.

Choi In-young, executive vice president and head of Hanmi Pharmaceutical's R&D Center, explained, "Based on its CV Outcome Trial results, efpeglenatide is better than any other obesity treatment at lowering the rate of death from cardiovascular disease," adding, "It also has the advantage of easing gastrointestinal side effects because it is absorbed gradually."

"This time is different"... 3 ways it differs from the shock nine years ago

The nightmare of 2016 is still vivid in investors' minds. Back then, Hanmi Pharmaceutical's shares plunged more than 10% in a single day when a KRW 1 trillion technology export deal with Janssen for the diabetes drug 'olmutinib' was terminated amid a controversy over substandard content.

Suspicions of an information leak added to the damage, and market confidence hit rock bottom.

This time, however, the situation is different. First, the production base is different. Efpeglenatide will be produced in Korea at the Pyeongtaek Bio Plant. Unlike Wegovy and Mounjaro, which rely on imports, it can secure a stable supply.

Second, The clinical stage is different. It has already completed Phase 3 and applied for product approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), so there are no variables such as a canceled licensing deal. Third, the partner is different. This time the strategy is in-house commercialization rather than a technology export, so there is no need to answer to a foreign drugmaker.

'Round 2' of the management dispute... is obesity drug development safe?

The management rights dispute at Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group, which has continued since 2024, has recently entered another phase. The first dispute, in which sons Lim Jong-yoon and Lim Jong-hoon opposed and took legal action against a planned merger with OCI Group pushed by Chairwoman Song Young-sook, wife of the late founder Chairman Lim Sung-ki, and her daughter, Vice Chairwoman Lim Joo-hyun (the mother-daughter side), was put to rest last December when President Lim Jong-yoon reconciled.

But in March 2026, a new conflict erupted. CEO Park Jae-hyun, known as a 33-year 'Hanmi man,' resigned after clashing with the largest shareholder, Hanyang Precision Chairman Shin Dong-kook, and outsider Hwang Sang-yeon, CEO of HB Investment, was named the new CEO. Employees pushed back, even staging a picket protest. Even so, the industry view is that obesity drug development is on track. Efpeglenatide has already completed Phase 3 trials and was designated for the MFDS's fast-track review (GIFT), with a launch targeted for the second half of 2026

. The R&D organization led by Choi In-young, executive vice president and head of the R&D Center, remains intact. That is why the impact of the management change on the pipeline is expected to be limited.

"KRW 100 billion in sales is only the start"... a KRW 2.9 trillion vision for 2030

Hanmi Pharmaceutical is targeting annual sales of more than KRW 100 billion from efpeglenatide.

DS Investment & Securities projects sales of KRW 40.6 billion in 2026, followed by KRW 125.8 billion in 2027, KRW 226 billion in 2028 and KRW 381.1 billion in 2029, an average annual growth rate of 86%. But this is only the beginning. At last year's 'Hanmi Vision Day,' Hanmi Pharmaceutical set a target of KRW 2.9 trillion in standalone sales in 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20%.

It is a medium- to long-term blueprint built around 'H.O.P (Hanmi Obesity Pipeline),' its obesity and metabolic disease pipeline. HM15275 (a triple agonist) has shown the potential for more than 25% weight loss, with Phase 2 results due in 2026, and HM17321 (a muscle-increasing drug) will enter Phase 1 in the second half of 2025.

"This time, we will not disappoint shareholders"

Hanmi Pharmaceutical has not forgotten the pain shareholders went through when its stock crashed in 2016. Nine years later, the obesity drug market has grown to KRW 2 trillion, and Hanmi Pharmaceutical is the only Korean drugmaker about to commercialize a GLP-1 obesity treatment.

Stable supply secured through domestic production, muscle preservation as a point of difference, and a careful clinical design shaped by the failure nine years ago. The second half of 2026 will be the turning point for whether Hanmi Pharmaceutical's 'people's obesity drug' can live up to the market's expectations.

BITPRESS Insight

1. Uncertainty in the price outlook: A launch price in the KRW 100,000 range is only an estimate by outside media such as Dealsite Economy TV, not the company's official pricing. Hanmi Pharmaceutical is keeping a flexible stance, saying "the final price will be decided taking into account that existing obesity treatments are cutting their prices." The actual launch price is likely to vary with Wegovy's and Mounjaro's pricing policies and whether the drug is covered by insurance.

2. The dilemma of the management dispute: If Hwang Sang-yeon is formally appointed CEO at the March 31 shareholders' meeting, Hanmi Pharmaceutical will be led by an outside CEO for the first time since its founding. In a pharmaceutical industry culture that values insiders, it is unclear whether an outsider can take control of the organization smoothly. In particular, all eyes are on what synergy a CEO with an investment background can create at an R&D-driven drugmaker.

3. Stability of the pipeline: Because efpeglenatide has already completed Phase 3 trials, the management change will have a limited impact on its development schedule. Changes are more likely in the technology export strategy for follow-on pipeline candidates such as HM17321 (a muscle-increasing drug) and HM15275 (a triple agonist). This is where CEO Hwang Sang-yeon's finance and investment expertise could come into play.

4. The difference between 2016 and 2026: The 2016 olmutinib case stemmed from uncertainty in a technology export deal. This time, efpeglenatide follows an in-house commercialization strategy with little reliance on outside partners. That reduces risk, but it also means Hanmi Pharmaceutical carries the full burden of competing in the domestic market.

5. What a 'people's obesity drug' really means: It is not simply about a low price; accessibility (stable supply)and sustainability (minimal side effects)are what matter. If efpeglenatide can deliver both, the market will open up even without a price in the KRW 100,000 range.

Sources

Hanmi Pharmaceutical press release, "A people's obesity drug with both efficacy and safety is coming... Hanmi to file for approval within the year"
Hanmi Pharmaceutical press release, "Hanmi Pharmaceutical completes domestic approval filing for efpeglenatide... value-up journey gets underway"
Hanmi Pharmaceutical IR materials, Q3 2025 and Vision Day materials
Hanmi Pharmaceutical press release, "Hanmi's triple-agonist obesity treatment on track in US Phase 2 trial"
Hanmi Pharmaceutical press release, "Hanmi's world-first 'muscle-increasing' innovative obesity drug wins US FDA approval for Phase 1 trial"
Hanmi Pharmaceutical press release, "Hanmi Pharmaceutical signs export deal with Mexico's Sanfer for GLP-1 obesity drug and more"
Hanmi Pharmaceutical press release, "Hanmi Pharmaceutical Delivers Record Results as Revenue Reaches USD 1.15 Billion"
NEJM, Cardiovascular and Renal Outcomes with Efpeglenatide in Type 2 Diabetes
Reports on prices, prescriptions and sales in the Korean obesity drug market