Mainland Chinese market for weight loss and diabetes drugs to soon be more crowded: report
Competition in the mainland Chinese market for
diabetes and weight loss
drugs is set to intensify as more than 60 late-stage drug candidates are undergoing clinical trials, according to a recent report.
Up to 20 biosimilar or generic copies will vie for market share and add pricing pressure after Denmark-based Novo Nordisk's semaglutide product loses patent protection in China next year, according to Boston-based global consultancy L.E.K. Consulting. Novo Nordisk's patent will expire in 2031 in Japan and Europe and 2032 in the US, according to its latest annual report.
'The landscape in China is expected to become even more competitive than in developed markets, where the GLP-1 category is primarily dominated by leading multinational pharmaceutical companies,' said Helen Chen, L.E.K.'s global healthcare and life sciences co-head, in a report on May 15.
GLP-1 drugs mimic natural hormones, which signal the pancreas to release more insulin when blood-sugar levels are high, and also support weight loss by slowing digestion and reducing appetite.
04:12
One reporter's weight-loss journey and what a 'healthy body' means to him
One reporter's weight-loss journey and what a 'healthy body' means to him
Driven by sales growth of semaglutide, Novo Nordisk became the 10th largest drug company in the world in terms of revenue. London-based consultancy Evaluate said the firm's revenue rose 25 per cent to US$42.1 billion last year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong proposes 50% duty on net profits from basketball betting
Hong Kong authorities have proposed a 50 per cent duty on the operators' net betting profits from basketball gambling, while a public consultation found that 94 per cent of respondents supported legalising such activities. In a paper submitted to the Legislative Council on Thursday, the government said that the existing calculation and collection methods for football betting tax could be adopted for basketball gambling as one of the amendments to the Betting Duty Ordinance. The duty on football betting is levied at 50 per cent of the net stake receipts. 'The government's policy is not to encourage gambling. We adopt a multipronged approach targeting illegal betting. Law enforcement and strengthening efforts in it are our foremost measures,' Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said. 'Another measure will be promotion, education and counselling services. The last resort is when illegal gambling activities have become rampant; we need a limited and legal channel to divert illegal gambling activities into legal betting.' The proposal will be discussed at a meeting of Legco's home affairs, culture and sports panel on Monday. Authorities earlier proposed establishing a regulatory regime for basketball betting by modelling it on the existing one for football wagering. The Hong Kong Jockey Club's latest assessment showed that illegal basketball betting turnover reached HK$70 billion to HK$90 billion last year.
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
AI might be answer to China's labour woes, but could also fuel deflation, report says
While the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is set to mitigate an expected shortage of labour in China in the long run, market observers differ on its impact on deflationary pressures in the near term. Advertisement The wider adoption of AI in China could exacerbate 'China's prevailing deflationary pressures' by disrupting an already-weak employment market, as the labour displacement effects of the technology might dominate in the short term, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a research report published last month. 'In China, the AI-induced labour market disruption could potentially prove more acute, given that the economy has a weak starting point of high youth unemployment problems and deflation,' they said. With AI potentially taking over 'junior-level cognitive work', companies might be encouraged to spend more on adopting the technology, with reduced hiring 'leading to more severe wage growth deceleration', the report said. But Ding Shuang, chief Greater China economist at Standard Chartered, said AI would not be a driving force of deflationary pressure in China as the main causes were overcapacity in some industries and sluggish domestic demand. Advertisement 'To combat deflationary pressure, China should curb overinvestment and excessive competition, but not hesitate to develop AI for fear of deflation, as AI is a strategically important industry,' Ding said.
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China's Hainan offers global internet access to some to boost free-trade port ambitions
China's southernmost province of Hainan is piloting a programme to grant select corporate users broad access to the global internet, a rare move in a country known for having some of the world's most restrictive online censorship, as the island seeks to transform itself into a global free-trade port. Advertisement Employees of companies registered and operating in Hainan can apply for the 'Global Connect' mobile service through the Hainan International Data Comprehensive Service Centre (HIDCSC), according to the agency, which is overseen by the state-run Hainan Big Data Development Centre. The programme allows eligible users to bypass the so-called Great Firewall, which blocks access to many of the world's most-visited websites, such as Google and Wikipedia. Applicants must be on a 5G plan with one of the country's three major state-backed carriers – China Mobile China Unicom or China Telecom – and submit their employer's information, including the company's Unified Social Credit Code, for approval. The process can take up to five months, HIDCSC staff said. Once approved, users will gain access to the global internet at no additional cost, according to an HIDCSC representative, who declined to be named because the person was not authorised to speak to news media. There are currently no restrictions on company size or business scope, and the service has attracted significant business interest, the person said. Advertisement
