Now named zantrutide, HM15275 is a triple agonist that targets three receptors, GLP-1, GIP and glucagon, which are involved in appetite regulation and metabolism.
The WHO assigns INNs to standardize the names of pharmaceutical substances worldwide and help prevent confusion, but the designation does not constitute regulatory approval of a drug's safety or efficacy.
Hanmi said the designation would help boost the drug candidate's value and global recognition as a potential new treatment.
Hanmi expects the drug to stand out from existing treatments by helping patients lose more than 25 percent of their body weight while minimizing muscle loss, a level the company says has so far been achieved only through weight-loss surgery.
Separately, its other obesity drug Eppe is set to become available by prescription at select medical clinics starting Oct. 29, about three weeks after it was approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Oct. 7.
It is South Korea's first domestically developed GLP-1 receptor agonist for obesity treatment, with efpeglenatide as its active ingredient. Patients who self-administered Eppe once a week for 40 weeks lost an average of about 10 percent of their body weight.
Eppe's first month of treatment costs about 130,000 won, compared with roughly 270,000 won for Eli Lilly's Mounjaro at its lowest dose and about 200,000 won for Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, according to Hanmi.
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