China’s weight-loss drug war: prices slashed up to 80% as obesity crisis worsens

Foreign and mainland Chinese drug makers are fighting for a multibillion-dollar slice of the domestic weight-loss market by slashing prices by as much as 80 per cent, as China faces a worsening obesity crisis.

Competition in the sector, dominated by global pharmaceutical giants Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, intensified after both secured obesity-drug approvals in China in 2024. The landscape is set to shift further when the patent on Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide expires in March in China, opening the door for a wave of Chinese generics ready to challenge their dominance.

The price war began in late December after Novo Nordisk cut Wegovy prices by half in southwestern Chinese provinces including Yunnan and Sichuan, according to Chinese media.

“Defending market share takes precedence over margins,” said Cui Cui, head of healthcare research for Asia at US investment bank Jefferies. “Weight-loss drugs carry high gross margins, enabling manufacturers to absorb price reductions.”

Wegovy, a once-weekly injection using semaglutide, saw monthly treatment costs for its highest doses fall from around 1,900 yuan (US$272) at launch to under 1,000 yuan. Online platforms such as Taobao and JD.com also slashed prices. Taobao is a unit of Post owner Alibaba Group Holding’s Tmall unit.

A one-month supply of Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro 2.4-millilitre dose sells for about 500 yuan on JD.com, lower than the discounted prices seen on Taobao, representing about an 80 per cent drop from its initial launch price.

“Multinational corporations cut prices faster and deeper than our expectation to compete in this market,” said Zhang Jialin, Nomura’s head of China healthcare research. “Local peers should follow.”

South China Morning Post