Korea Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro (tirzepatide) has received a positive reimbursement assessment for use as a diabetes treatment, signaling an impending pricing-stage competition with Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic (semaglutide)—not in obesity, but specifically in type 2 diabetes care.

On December 4, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA), led by President Joong-goo Kang, announced the outcomes of its 12th Drug Reimbursement Evaluation Committee meeting for 2025.

Mounjaro Prefilled Pen was judged suitable for reimbursement as an adjunct therapy to diet and exercise for improving glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes. Ozempic, a competing GLP-1 therapy, passed committee review in October and is now in price negotiations with the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS). Although Ozempic entered negotiations earlier, the timeline for finalizing reimbursement for either therapy remains uncertain.

The committee also concluded that Samoh Pharm’s Voxzogo Injection (vosoritide) is appropriate for reimbursement in children aged four months and older with achondroplasia who have open growth plates. AbbVie Korea’s Epkinly Injection (epcoritamab) was similarly deemed suitable for adults with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) after at least two systemic treatments.

Medison Pharma Korea’s Amvuttra Prefilled Syringe (vutrisiran sodium), indicated for adults with transthyretin hereditary amyloidosis with stage 1 or 2 polyneuropathy, also received a positive suitability determination.

In contrast, Janssen Korea’s Opysinvi Tablet (macitentan, tadalafil) and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Korea’s Vadanem Tablet were assessed as suitable only if priced at or below the committee’s evaluated threshold. These therapies are used respectively for long-term treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (WHO Group I, class II–III) and for symptomatic anemia in adults with dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease.