Starting on Nov. 12, the import into South Korea of up to a three-month supply of medications purchased abroad for self-treatment will be permitted. As a result, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) class obesity treatments such as 'Mounjaro' and 'Wegovy,' which are prescribed and purchased in Japan, can now also be brought into the country.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 11th that it has agreed with the Korea Customs Service to allow personal carry-in starting on the 12th, in order to resolve the inconvenience for citizens whose medications are held at customs when personally carrying self-treatment medications into the country.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Korea Customs Service have been discussing improvement measures due to the ongoing issue that many citizens face inconvenience because the clearance of medications personally carried in is suspended upon entry, even though the medications were normally prescribed and purchased domestically or abroad.
Accordingly, the government has taken measures to allow personal carry-in of up to 'a total of 6 vials (if exceeding 6 vials, a 3-month dosage based on the medication's usage instructions)' for medications that have received formal approval from the country's drug regulatory authority and were prescribed and purchased under that country's normal medical system, starting on the 12th.
As a result, it has become possible to bring up to a three-month supply of obesity drugs into South Korea when purchasing them in Japan for self-treatment, where prices are lower compared to South Korea. The three-month dosage for GLP-1 class obesity treatments that require one self-injection per week is 12 units.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Korea Customs Service stated, "We plan to continue cooperating to ensure citizen safety while resolving inconveniences going forward."
According to obesity drug supply price data obtained by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Nam In-soon, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, from the National Health Insurance Service and the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, the factory shipment price (wholesale supply price) for Mounjaro Prefilled Pen Injection 2.5mg in South Korea from January to June this year is 68,397 won. This is based on the shipment price before being supplied to medical institutions through distributors.
This is 5.1 times the Japanese supply price of 13,340 won. It is also higher than the French supply price of 59,576 won and the UK supply price of 60,678 won. Prices for Mounjaro by dosage by country were compared using simple converted prices per pen. Calculations applied the average exchange rate based on the trading reference rate over 36 months (August 2023 to July 2026).
When compared with the average supply price in Europe and Japan, excluding the United States among seven major countries, South Korea's supply price was higher for all dosages except the lowest dosage of 2.5mg. Based on the 5mg dosage, South Korea's supply price was 90,827 won, which was 16% more expensive than the average European and Japanese supply price of 78,298 won. For the highest dosage of 15mg, South Korea's supply price was 167,971 won, which was 14% higher.
Even when compared with the average price in five European countries, South Korea's price for Mounjaro was more expensive for all dosages except 2.5mg. The prices were 5% higher for 5mg, 6% higher for 7.5mg, and 7% higher for 12.5mg, respectively.
in THEBIO
