(Yicai) Nov. 18 -- Wegovy, the weight loss wonder drug developed by Novo Nordisk, is to officially launch in China, according to the Danish pharmaceutical giant.

The world's first and only weekly glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist for long-term weight management is ready to begin sales in the Chinese market, Novo Nordisk announced on its official WeChat account yesterday.

China's National Medical Products Administration gave the green light to Novo Nordisk to sell Wegovy for use by people who had a body mass index (BMI) of at least 30 kilograms per square meter and who had BMI between 27 and 30 kilograms per square meter with at least one weight-related comorbidity in June, 2024.

Novo Nordisk will sell Wegovy through multiple channels, including public and private hospitals and pharmacies, making it available in locations and through channels where obesity patients are concentrated, the Bagsvaerd-based firm added.

The first prescription for Wegovy in China will be issued at a public hospital in Shanghai this week. According to online platforms, it will cost about CNY1,400 (USD194) per four-injection pack (0.25mg). Novo Nordisk says the selling price of Wegovy® will refer to the prices listed in each province’s procurement system. 

Supply is relatively tight, so patients seeking a prescription will need to make an outpatient’s appointment and complete a medication assessment, a private hospital in Shanghai said.

Wegovy has not yet been included in China's national medical insurance program, Zhou Xiaping, global senior vice president and president for China of Novo Nordisk, told Yicai. The company is actively exploring various paths, including commercial insurance, to make the drug more affordable, she added.

Wegovy is the same semaglutide injection as Ozempic. But while the first is used to manage weight loss in obese patients, the second is used to lower blood sugar for patients with type-2 diabetes. They were both developed by Novo Nordisk. 

About 180 million adults in China suffer from obesity, offering a huge market opportunity for pharmaceutical companies. Wegovy is a best-selling weight-loss drug globally and a key source of revenue for Novo Nordisk.

The company has been very active in China this year. In April, the clinical trial application for its weight-loss drug Amycretin was approved by the NMPA. In June, Awiqli, another semaglutide drug to treat type-2 diabetes developed by the firm, was approved for marketing and included in the national medical insurance program.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione