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Global pharmaceutical giants, including Pfizer and AstraZeneca, are investing heavily to secure licensing rights for Chinese weight-loss medications, as fierce competition for next-generation obesity treatments reshapes the industry landscape.
Yesterday, a significant agreement was announced when a Hangzhou-based biotech firm revealed that Pfizer China will pay up to $495 million for exclusive rights to commercialize ecnoglutide throughout mainland China. Ecnoglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drug developed by the company, will continue to be researched, registered, and produced domestically. The medication is already approved in China for type 2 diabetes and is now pending approval for weight management.
China represents a massive market opportunity for global pharmaceutical companies. Current estimates indicate that a little over 14 percent of Chinese adults are obese. The government has integrated weight-loss strategies into its Healthy China 2030 initiative, aiming to enhance national health outcomes by 2030, according to Pfizer China’s president.
Launched in 2019, Healthy China 2030 emphasizes comprehensive health improvements nationwide, with a recent addition of a weight management campaign to address obesity, now recognized as a significant public health concern.
A biotech investor commented that multinational pharmaceutical companies are re-evaluating the value of China’s innovative drug sector, with next-generation obesity treatments now a key focus for global pipelines given the enormous market potential. Goldman Sachs predicts that the worldwide market for GLP-1 drugs could reach $95 billion by 2030 and $120 billion by 2035.
In December, Pfizer entered into a licensing agreement with YaoPharma, a Shanghai-based subsidiary of Fosun Pharmaceutical Group, to pay up to $2 billion for exclusive global rights to an oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist designed for type 2 diabetes.
Similarly, Hebei-based CSPC Pharmaceutical Group licensed its oral GLP-1 receptor agonist to US-based Madrigal Pharmaceuticals last July in a deal valued at potentially over $2 billion. CSPC also licensed a next-generation dual-target weight-loss injection drug to AstraZeneca earlier this year.
In March of the previous year, Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk partnered with Hong Kong-based United Laboratories International Holdings on a triple-target weight-loss medication called UBT251, with an initial down payment of $200 million. The overall deal could be valued at up to $2 billion.
Domestic firms like Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group, and Shanghai Chengyi Biological Technology have also successfully expanded internationally by licensing their GLP-1 based treatments.
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