Reimbursement review is underway for 'Ozempic'

Containing the same active ingredient as Wegovy

Recently submitted supplementary documents…halted pursuing reimbursement in 2023 due to the supply issue

The decision is likely influenced by the recent launch of its competitor drug 'Mounjaro' in the Korean market

Ozempic

'Ozempic (semaglutide, Novo Nordisk),' a diabetes treatment with the same active ingredient as the injectable Wegovy, has been reapplied for National Health Insurance reimbursement.

 

Novo Nordisk submitted a reimbursement application for Ozempic to the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) in the first half of this year, and the review is reportedly now underway.

 

Ozempic is garnering attention regarding whether it will be successfully added to the reimbursement list this time, as its previous attempt in 2023 was halted just before it could be listed.

 

According to industry sources on September 11, Novo Nordisk recently submitted supplementary documents related to Ozempic's reimbursement to HIRA.

 

A review of Ozempic's reimbursement appropriateness is reportedly underway, and it is expected to be considered by the Drug Reimbursement Evaluation Committee (DREC) within the year.

 

Ozempic had already passed the DREC in February 2023.

 

At that time, the DREC recognized the appropriateness of sOzempic's reimbursement on the condition that the company accept a price below the evaluated amount, which the company agreed to.

 

The Korean Diabetes Association and the Korean Endocrine Society had submitted their opinion to the PBEC, stating that it was appropriate for Ozempic, a long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist, to have a reimbursement scope similar to that of Trulicity, which is in the same class and has also been the subject of a comparative clinical study.

 

Subsequently, it entered drug price negotiation with the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), but the reimbursement application was withdrawn due to the company's internal circumstances.

 

Industry sources report that the company halted the reimbursement process at the time because the explosive demand for semaglutide products, such as Wegovy, in the global market made it difficult to supply the drug in Korea.

 

The company's decision to re-pursue reimbursement this time is analyzed as being influenced by the full-scale entry of Mounjaro (tirzepatide, Lilly), Wegovy's competitor, into the Korean market.

 

Mounjaro received domestic approval as an obesity treatment last September, and a reimbursement application for its diabetes indication was submitted in July.

 

The Korean academic community also views the reimbursement of Ozempic and Mounjaro positively.

 

This year's '2025 Diabetes Clinical Practice Guidelines' present both drugs as having a significant blood sugar-lowering effect.

 

Currently, the only reimbursed product among drugs that bind to GLP-1 (Glucagon-like Peptide-1) receptors to lower blood sugar, like these two drugs, is Lilly's Trulicity (dulaglutide).