China opens door to Lilly's weight loss drug, intensifying Novo rivalry

2024-07-19

In a move likely to intensify competition in the burgeoning Chinese market for weight loss drugs, Eli Lilly announced via social media Friday that regulators there have signed off on its popular dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist tirzepatide. The approval comes less than a month after Novo Nordisk's Wegovy (semaglutide) gained a similar authorisation in the critical Asian market.

Tirzepatide, which is sold as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight loss in other markets, represents Lilly's entry into China's potentially lucrative obesity treatment landscape. Chinese regulators cleared the drug for diabetes in late May.

The rapid approvals of weight loss medicines underscores the Chinese regulator's recognition of rising obesity rates in the country. The latest national survey conducted during 2015-2019 by China's National Health Commission found that 34.3% of China's adult population is overweight, with 16.4% reported as obese.

Upping capacity…

The approval of Zepbound in China also comes at a time when Lilly is working to ramp up its production capabilities globally. The company recently invested $5.3 billion to expand an Indiana production site in a bid to alleviate shortages for both Mounjaro and Zepbound. That was on top of a previous $3.7-billion commitment.

Novo has been working to solve supply challenges for its GLP-1 drugs as well, including via plans to build a $4.1-billion fill-finish facility in the US. The company said it would also expand a manufacturing site in Tianjin, China, which is expected to be operational in 2027.

…as competition intensifies

A retrospective observational study published in JAMA Internal Medicine recently gave Lilly's drug a weight-loss edge over Wegovy, potentially foreshadowing results from an ongoing head-to-head trial between the two GLP-1 heavyweights.

Meanwhile, competition in the obesity drug market is not limited to Lilly and Novo. Just this week, Pfizer announced it would continue developing a once-daily formulation of its oral GLP-1 agonist danuglipron, saying it was optimistic about being able to advance a "competitive oral GLP-1 molecule into registration enabling studies," while Roche has also reported promising early-stage data for both its oral GLP-1 receptor agonist GLP-1 receptor agonist CT-996 and its injectable dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist CT-388 GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist CT-388.