In China, Ozempic is a huge company.

The diabetic medication was sold in the nation twice as much by the Danish pharmaceutical behemoth Novo Nordisk last year, for a total of about $700 million, or 5% of Ozempic’s worldwide sales.

The anti-obesity component semaglutide in Ozempic, which many Chinese refer to as the “internet celebrity weight-loss drug,” has driven demand for the medication even though it was licenced in China in 2021 to treat diabetes.

Ozempic has being pushed on Chinese social media by female influencers and vloggers.

The same sites are also the source of several “beauty challenges” that have become popular over time and feature mostly young girls flaunting their thinness.

“Overall, ‘thinness’ is the beauty standard for women in China, and some are even willing to demonstrate it and pursue it to the detriment of their health,” Pan Wang, a senior lecturer in Chinese and Asian studies at Australia’s University of New South Wales, told Al Jazeera.

Wang doesn’t find it surprising that Ozempic is in high demand.

“A lot of people in China are open to trying different diet plans and supplements these days,” the source stated.

The young, beauty-conscious women on social media are not the only ones who are trying to reduce weight at nearly any cost.

About half of the population in China is overweight or obese, making it the country with the highest percentage of overweight individuals worldwide.

Manufacturers of medications like Ozempic find the Chinese market to be an alluring opportunity because of the country’s rising obesity rates and strict beauty standards, according to Wang.

“A significant amount of money could be made,”

The pharmaceutical industry hasn’t been idle.

In response to rumours that it wants to get permission to sell Ozempic exclusively for weight reduction, Novo Nordisk has submitted an application to China’s drug authority to increase the medicine’s usage.

The business anticipates that China will allow the sale of its weight-loss medication, Wegovy, this year.

Chinese officials approved Tirzepatide, the pharmaceutical business owned by Indianapolis, Indiana-based Eli Lilly, in May. Tirzepatide is a competitor of Ozempic.

Huadong Medicine, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, owns Hangzhou Jiuyuan Gene Engineering in China, which earlier this year sought for permission to market Ozempic its first domestic competitor.

Despite these advancements, there is still a greater demand than there is supply for prescription weight-loss medications. Eli Lilly projects that this trend will continue in 2024.

Ozempic may now cost up to 1,000 yuan ($138) on Chinese e-commerce sites like Taobao, which is twice as much as the identical medication at a state hospital.

Although well-known businesses are collaborating with Chinese health authorities to expand supplies, the sale of fake semaglutide goods has increased on Chinese online platforms.

Al Jazeera was informed by Allan Von Mehren, chief analyst and China economist at Danske Bank, that “the grey market for weight-loss drugs has been booming in China.”

“The weight-loss drug market in China has enormous growth potential.”

According to Von Mehren, supplier competition won’t be a significant barrier in the upcoming years due to the growing need.

Rather, he remarked, “the capacity is the limitation right now.”

“The ones who can invest in and control capacity will most likely end up with the largest share of the market.”

Who will develop capacity and who will be left out of the market in the near future, according to Von Mehren, will be determined by governmental involvement and regulation.

“The market has been like the Wild West until recently,” he remarked.

Ozempic has become widely available without a prescription in China, however diabetics’ access to it is being restricted due to an increase in off-label usage of the medication.

However, starting last year, the Chinese government has intervened.

More than 5,000 postings on Ozempic’s weight-loss experiences were taken down by censors from the social networking site Xiaohongshu in February of last year.

Numerous people were arrested and found guilty in March of last year as a result of police investigations into the creation and marketing of unlicensed semaglutide goods.

Six individuals were charged with selling weight-loss chocolates that contained illegal chemicals last month after a toddler who ate part of them ended up in the hospital.

“We will probably see the Chinese authorities getting more involved as new drugs are approved for the Chinese market compared to when Ozempic was first released,” Von Mehren stated.

More government participation might affect the existing situation of the weight-loss medicine business in China, which is dominated by Western brands.

Novo Nordisk is already involved in a patent fight that Huadong Medicine, the massive pharmaceutical company aiming to establish a Chinese competitor to Ozempic, started.

Huadong Medicine filed an application with China’s State Intellectual Property Office in 2021, claiming that Novo Nordisk’s patent on semaglutide, which was granted in China and was good until 2026, ought to be revoked.

The next year, the patent office declared it invalid; however, Novo challenged the ruling, and the judgement is now pending before the patent office.

In January, an associate of Huadong Medicine stated, “We will not be able to commercialise JY29-2 [the drug similar to Ozempic] before the patent expires unless the competent court finally decides this patent is invalid.”

If Novo’s patent is found to be invalid, other Chinese companies may choose to launch their own Ozempic equivalents, which might lead to an increase in the number of weight-loss drugs available in China.

However, international businesses have long voiced worries about Chinese enterprises receiving special treatment in their domestic markets.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang attempted to allay these worries in January at the World Economic Forum in Davos by declaring that “China is open for business” and that there is “potential for foreign investment” in plenty.

Do they still prioritise their own businesses? Or are they prepared to level the playing field to make room for outside companies? stated Von Mehren.

“The patent dispute and the Chinese authorities’ involvement in the weight-loss market can be a small test of that.”

(Adapted from Aljazeera.com)

Categories: Economy & Finance, Regulations & Legal, Strategy, Uncategorized