A Chinese biotechnology company, Shanghai Shiling Pharmaceutical, plans to complete clinical trials by 2028 for a weight-loss nasal spray that uses semaglutide, the same active ingredient as Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s obesity medicine Wegovy, according to Reuters.
Novo Nordisk’s patent on semaglutide is set to expire in China in March. The patent is also set to expire in 2026 in countries including India, Brazil, Canada and Turkey.
The spray is meant to be used over a longer period of time and is expected to cost less than semaglutide pills, Shiling said in a statement to Reuters.
