Inclusion in the national reimbursement list makes drugs more widely available to the public in a country with a population of 1.4 billion, but an increase in sales volume is often mitigated by lower prices.
Mounjaro, a once-weekly injectable therapy, was introduced in China in January this year following the launch of Ozempic, a similar diabetes therapy from rival Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk in 2021. Ozempic was first added to China’s reimbursement list in 2022. Sales of Ozempic in the greater China region rose to 5.76 billion Danish crowns ($898.5 million) in 2024, according to Novo’s annual report.
Lilly did not immediately respond to a request for the price of Mounjaro as a diabetes treatment under China’s reimbursement list – a figure negotiated with the government. Macquarie Capital analysts wrote in a note Monday that Mounjaro could take market share away from Novo and Innovent Biologics (1801.HK), opens new tab , another obesity and diabetes drugmaker.
“Even if approved and reimbursed only for diabetes, Chinese patients are too smart. Tirzepatide will be used off label for obesity,” Tony Ren, head of Asia healthcare research at Macquarie Capital, told Reuters.
–Reuters–
