The Shanghai-based biotech company Innogen has joined a pharmaceutical race to combat obesity and aims to complete a late-stage clinical trial of its experimental weight loss drug next year, Reuters reports.
The timing is crucial, as the patent for semaglutide – the key ingredient in Danish multinational Novo Nordisk’s game-changing weight-loss offerings Ozempic and Wegovy – is set to expire in China in early 2026. The drugs belong to the GLP-1 class of medications that help regulate blood sugar, slow digestion and reduce appetites.
Results from Innogen’s earlier trials, published last month, showed patients lost about 7 percent of their body weight on its experimental Efsubaglutide Alfa injection (also in the GLP-1 class). Innogen CEO Wang Qinghua has said he expects larger weight reductions as studies continue.
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Efsubaglutide Alfa was approved by Chinese regulators as a once-weekly injection for the control of Type 2 diabetes in January.
Meanwhile, regulators recently approved Suzhou-based pharmaceuticals firm Innovent Biologics’ drug mazdutide, which is described by the company as “the world’s first dual [glucagon] GCG/GLP-1 receptor agonist approved for weight loss.” It says the drug is made to reduce fat and deliver metabolic benefits simultaneously.
Reuters describes China’s weight-loss drug market as “increasingly crowded,” with more and more such medications becoming available. According to Morningstar analyst Yurou Zheng, the market’s near-term challenge would likely be price competition.
“I think many users are more likely to pivot to cheaper options if the efficacy profiles are similar or even slightly less superior as long as they are well within a few percentage points,” he said.
