Korea’s first homegrown weight-loss shot wins approval — gentler on the stomach, kinder on the wallet

South Korea’s drug regulator approved Eppe, a weekly injection from Hanmi Pharmaceutical — the country’s first domestically developed obesity drug (GLP-1 drugs mimic a gut hormone that curbs appetite) and its 45th homegrown new medicine. In a Phase 3 trial of 448 Korean participants, patients lost an average 9.02% of body weight over 40 weeks versus 0.89% on placebo, with less nausea and vomiting than the big imported brands. Hanmi plans to price it for long-term affordability, make it at home to avoid import shortages, and launch as early as end of October.