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 injectable drug is intended for chronic weight management in adults with obesity or for those who are overweight and do not have diabetes, as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and exercise. The drug was initially licensed out to global pharmaceutical company Sanofi in 2015 as a diabetes treatment, but the rights were returned in 2020. Hanmi Pharm then decided to develop the drug as its own obesity treatment. Eppe was initially expected to become Korea's 44th domestically developed new drug, but became the 45th after an eye treatment jointly developed by Aju Pharm and GL Pharm Tech received approval on Sept. 8. Eppe is set to compete with leading GLP-1-based obesity treatments such as Wegovy and