Mounjaro prescriptions top 1.5 million in 10 months

Prescriptions surged from August last year through May this year

May volume reached 273,140… up 14.7-fold from the launch month

Patients in their 30s accounted for 36%...teenage prescriptions continue to rise

More than 1.5 million prescriptions were issued for the obesity treatment Mounjaro (tirzepatide) during the first 10 months following its launch in Korea.

Monthly prescriptions increased 14.7-fold from 18,579 in August last year, the first month after launch, to 273,140 in May this year.

According to Drug Utilization Review (DUR) data submitted by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service to People Power Party lawmaker Jia Han of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee, Mounjaro was prescribed 1,501,161 times during the 10 months from its domestic launch in August last year through May this year.

The figures are based on prescription records that underwent DUR checks at healthcare institutions to prevent duplicate prescribing and may therefore differ from the exact volume dispensed.

By age group, patients in their 30s accounted for the largest share of cumulative prescriptions over the 10 months, at 36.0%, followed by those in their 40s (27.1%), 20s (16.9%), then 50s (14.6%). Patients in their 20s and 30s together accounted for 52.9% (794,781) of prescriptions.

Prescription volume among teenagers continues rising. Monthly prescriptions for patients in their teens rose from 82 at launch to 2,594 in May this year.

Prescriptions for Wegovy are likewise rising. A cumulative 1,228,867 prescriptions were issued from its launch in October 2024 through May this year, with patients in their 20s and 30s accounting for 46.4%.

Concerns have repeatedly been raised within and outside the medical community over the misuse and overuse of obesity treatments such as Wegovy and Mounjaro. The government is also considering designating GLP-1 obesity treatments as ‘drugs with potential for misuse or abuse.’

Rep Han said, “Mounjaro prescriptions exceeded 1.5 million within 10 months of launch, yet the government’s response remains limited to adding warnings about the risk of misuse. While ensuring patients’ treatment opportunities, management of GLP-1 obesity treatments should shift from distribution control to prescription oversight utilizing DUR to prevent misuse among adolescents and use solely for cosmetic weight loss.”