Seoul, South Korea – Adults with diabetes may soon have broader insurance coverage for a new treatment option, as the Pharmaceutical Review committee has deemed Novo Nordisk’s Maunjaro eligible for health insurance benefits when used alongside diet adn exercise. The decision,announced today,paves the way for potential patient access to the drug in the first half of next year,pending triumphant price negotiations.
The ruling marks a notable step toward wider accessibility for Maunjaro, designed to improve blood sugar control in adult diabetic patients. If price talks proceed smoothly, patients will be able to utilize insurance coverage when the medication is prescribed in conjunction with other treatments. The committee’s decision underscores a growing focus on innovative therapies for managing diabetes,a condition affecting millions in South Korea.
Beyond Maunjaro, the committee also approved insurance reimbursement for AbbVie’s lymphoma treatment Epkinly, Samo Pharmaceutical’s pediatric achondroplasia treatment Voxzogo, and Medicine Pharma’s polyneuropathy treatment Ambut.
However, coverage for some drugs is contingent on price reductions. Johnson & johnson’s pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment Opsinvi and Mitsubishi Nabe Pharma’s anemia treatment Vadanem will be considered for inclusion if prices align with the committee’s recommendations. Similarly, Dong-A ST’s styrene and other leaf extracts, and spherical adsorbent bombs for uremia treatment, require acceptance of suggested pricing from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) to remain eligible for insurance coverage.
The committee deferred final decisions on Hepamelz (L-aspartic acid-L-ornithine) for liver disease, sulglycotide for gastroduodenitis, and magnesium chenodesoxycholic acid-ursodesoxycholic acid trihydrate for cholesterol gallstones, pending the outcome of clinical re-evaluations by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
