China approves Eli Lilly’s weight-loss pill orforglipron

SHANGHAI, Nov 12 (Reuters) – China has approved Eli Lilly’s weight-loss pill orforglipron, the country’s medicine regulator said on Thursday, giving the drugmaker a leg up on Danish rival Novo Nordisk in the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical market.

Lilly’s pill will compete for market share in China with the once-weekly GLP-1 weight-loss injections from Novo, Pfizer, and local ‌firm Innovent Biologics, as the country’s ​National Health Commission has said the rate of overweight or obese people ⁠could reach more than 65% by 2030.

Novo and Lilly believe weight-loss pills could ​attract patients reluctant to use injections, although Novo’s own oral Wegovy has not yet been approved in China. Lilly was first to apply with orforglipron.

(Reporting by Andrew Silver; additional reporting from Beijing newsroom; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)