Eli Lilly becomes first drugmaker to have a GLP-1 weight loss pill approved in China

Eli ​Lilly on Thursday became the first ‌company to ​have a GLP-1 weight-loss pill approved in China, gaining a leg up on Danish rival Novo Nordisk in the world's second-largest pharmaceutical market. So ‌far, only GLP-1 weight-loss injections have been available in China.

The pill, orforglipron, will compete for market share in China with Lilly's own once-weekly GLP-1 weight-loss injection as well as with similar injections from Novo, ‌Pfizer and local company Innovent Biologics. The GLP-1 class of drugs mimic a gut hormone to curb appetite ‌and regulate blood sugar in patients with diabetes.

Novo and Lilly believe weight-loss pills could attract patients reluctant to use injections. Novo has also submitted an application to sell the oral version of Wegovy in China. Oral therapies account ⁠for about ​a third of US ⁠obesity prescriptions following the rollout of Novo's Wegovy pill in January this year, according to Novo presentations in September.

China's National ⁠Health Commission has said the proportion of overweight or obese people in the country could reach more than ​65% by 2030, up from roughly 50% in 2020. Annual sales of GLP-1 therapies for ⁠weight management in China could reach 30 billion yuan ($4.5 billion) in the next five to seven years, up from an ⁠estimated ​3 billion yuan to 4 billion yuan at present, Yang Huang, J.P. Morgan's head of China healthcare research, has forecast.

Lilly did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how it ⁠will price orforglipron in China or when it would be available. What appeared to be a promotion ⁠for the drug ⁠appeared on a mobile app from Chinese e-commerce company JD.com on Thursday. A spokesperson for JD.com did not immediately respond to a request for comment.