Chinese pharmaceutical companies are developing domestic versions of “miracle” weight-loss drugs as they take on western drugmakers selling anti-obesity medication in one of the world’s biggest markets, reports the Financial Times. Chinese drug companies hope to compete with the Danish pharma group Novo Nordisk’s pioneering drugs in China, which has the world’s largest overweight and diabetic population. If successful, they could also potentially offer a cheaper alternative in the west.
The new generation of weight-loss drugs form part of a category called glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists or GLP-1s. Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide or Ozempic dominates the market, but dozens using the same mechanism are undergoing clinical trials in China, analysts said.
“There will be an explosion in supply at the latest by 2026,” said Beijing-based UBS pharmaceutical analyst Chen Chen.
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