Mounjaro 2.5 mg and 5 mg (Courtesy of Lilly Korea)
SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – Eli Lilly’s blockbuster obesity drug Mounjaro showed signs of supply strain in South Korea at the start of the year, as surging demand outpaced deliveries, according to pharmaceutical market data.
Data released Sunday by BRP Insight, a drug supply analytics platform, indicated that the 2.5-milligram starter dose of Mounjaro was classified as “unstable” in supply during the first, second and fourth weeks of January. In the fourth week alone, pharmacies logged 1,163 restocking requests, but only 151 shipments were fulfilled.
The supply index is compiled using nationwide data from Baropharm’s pharmacy management system, which tracks restock requests and deliveries, alongside public drug data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. The index categorizes supply conditions as either stable or unstable.
Other doses also faced disruptions. The 5-milligram version recorded unstable supply for three consecutive weeks in January before returning to normal levels in the fourth week. Mounjaro experienced a similar shortage last year, when supplies were constrained for about 12 weeks beginning in August.
Analysts attributed the latest shortages to rapidly rising demand. Mounjaro has been prescribed more than 100,000 times within four months of its domestic launch, overtaking Novo Nordisk’s rival obesity treatment Wegovy. Prescriptions surged to 97,344 cases in November, more than five times the level recorded in August, its first month on the market.
Concerns have also been raised about regional imbalances, after data showed that seven of the 10 GLP-1–based obesity drugs available in South Korea were concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, potentially worsening shortages elsewhere.
Eli Lilly said that, by its internal standards, Mounjaro was not officially out of stock, but acknowledged a sharp spike in demand in January. The company explained that an increase in patients beginning treatment early in the year led to a temporary surge in demand for the starter dose, creating localized mismatches between supply and demand.
The company added that it is working to stabilize global supply by closely monitoring market conditions in each country and pledged to respond swiftly to growing demand in South Korea.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
