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Driving Changes in Chronic Diseases Across a Century

Sasha Semienchuk,
General Manager, Novo Nordisk Pharma Korea

2025 marks my third year in Korea. Although Korea has always been a country that has grown amidst dynamic changes, this year seems to be one where Korean society is experiencing changes on various aspects more than ever before.

The most noteworthy aspect is that Korean society has entered a super-aged society this year. Now, the proportion of the population aged 65 and over has surpassed 20% of the total population. This means that one in five members of society may immediately experience the threat of chronic diseases due to physical decline associated with aging.

In fact, about half of adult men in Korea are patients with obesity. Obesity is the fifth leading risk factor for death among Koreans, with 112,161 Koreans dying from obesity-related diseases in 2022 alone. This mortality rate has been rapidly increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic. The medical expenses for major chronic diseases, including diabetes, have more than doubled in the past decade.

These statistics are no longer shocking numbers we encounter only in the news. We can easily meet family members, neighbors, and colleagues who are suffering from these diseases.

For me personally, my grandfather had obesity and died at only 52 years old due to heart failure complications to this obesity. I think almost every Korean has a story in their family which is similar. We need to bring solutions for our families and friends.

This background has motivated Novo Nordisk to continuously strive to overcome chronic diseases in Korean society under the mission of 'Driving changes to defeat serious chronic diseases'. Recently, we have been making all-out efforts to introduce global innovative new drugs in the fields of diabetes and obesity, two major chronic diseases. Although the introduction process has not been easy due to the explosive global demand, it is a journey that is essential for improving the quality of life of Korean patients, and we plan to accelerate this effort even more this year.

We have had a lot of focus recently on our obesity pipeline. But Novo Nordisk has 14 diabetes assets in our pipeline, making it the deepest. Our most critical diabetes products have been developed here in Korea with local Korean researchers and hospitals. We will launch some of our most exciting innovation ever in diabetes in the next 1-2 years.

Moreover, we are well aware that our responsibility does not end with simply supplying new drugs. We continuously operate educational programs of unprecedented scale and level to provide the latest clinical data and prescription guidelines to healthcare professionals.

The journey of Novo Nordisk, which began with the goal of overcoming diabetes, continues even after more than 100 years. Before Novo Nordisk supplied the world's first insulin, the life expectancy of diabetes patients was only 15 months. Today, Novo Nordisk supply about half of the insulin for Koreans as well as globally. But we have not stopped to innovate, and recently we received approval in Korea for the world's first once-weekly insulin.

We aim to fulfill our social responsibility as a leading company in the field of chronic disease treatment environments. Chronic diseases are not just a health issue but a complex task involving social, economic, and environmental aspects, requiring a comprehensive response from the government and the participation of civil society.

In fact, in Korea, we have expanded the number of clinical trial sites by more than five times over the past five years and have established strategic partnerships for clinical trials on comprehensive chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases and rare diseases, as well as obesity and diabetes, with Seoul National University Hospital, Severance Hospital, and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital.

We are solidifying a roadmap for the development of the prevention and management ecosystem for chronic diseases through partnerships involving not only expert groups in the medical field but also local communities and biotech companies.

There is an old saying, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Novo Nordisk hopes that the innovations accumulated to drive changes for overcoming chronic diseases will bear more meaningful fruits this year with our partners in Korea.