A Chinese drugmaker applied for approval on 3 April 2024 to sell their biosimilar Ozempic drug in China. This potentially challenges the expansion plans of Novo Nordisk in China, who is the original producer of Ozempic. The Chinese drugmaker Hangzhou Jiuyuan Gene Engineering has named their drug Jiyoutai (JY29-2). Jiyoutai would be China’s first locally developed Ozempic-like drug.
Like Ozempic, the Chinese drug controls blood sugar in patients with type two diabetes. Novo’s patents in China for Ozempic and their similarly made weight-loss drug Wegovy expire in 2026. The Danish pharmaceutical company’s Ozempic sales in China have more than doubled in 2023 and make up around five percent of the global sales of Ozempic. Novo plans to launch their weight-loss drug Wegovy in China this year, with a focus on clients, that pay out of their own pocket.
Last year, Ozempic became the world’s best-selling drug against diabetes, and the sales are also driven by patients wanting to lose weight due to it containing the active ingredient, semaglutide, which is also contained in Wegovy. The high demand has created shortages in Europe.
Source: The Business Times
