Novo Nordisk Slashes Weight Loss Drug Price By Up To 50% In China: Report

Prices of Wegovy’s two highest doses were reduced to 987.48 yuan ($141) and 1,284.36 yuan, according to a Bloomberg article on Monday, citing Yicai.

• Novo’s patent on semaglutide, an active ingredient in weight loss drugs like Wegovy, is set to expire in China in March.
• Novo said the move would help ease the financial burden on patients, according to the report.
• Earlier this month, the FDA approved Wegovy, making it the first oral GLP-1 drug cleared for weight management.

Novo Nordisk (NVO) has slashed the listed prices of its obesity drug Wegovy by roughly 50% in parts of China, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing local media outlet Yicai, as the drugmaker braces for intensifying competition ahead of a key patent expiration.

The report stated that the prices of Wegovy’s two highest doses were reduced to 987.48 yuan ($141) and 1,284.36 yuan, citing drug-procurement documents from southwestern provinces including Yunnan and Sichuan. Prices on JD.com’s online pharmacy platform have also been lowered, allowing patients across China to place orders after an online doctor consultation.

Novo said the move would help ease the financial burden on patients, Yicai reported. 

Novo’s patent on semaglutide, an active ingredient in weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic, is set to expire in China in March, opening the door to lower-cost generic versions. Competition has already intensified, with Chinese drugmaker Innovent Biologics recently winning approval for a domestically developed obesity treatment, which has raised pressure on global players like Novo and Eli Lilly.

Novo’s FDA Approval

Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Wegovy pill, making it the first oral GLP-1 drug cleared for weight management. The Danish drugmaker plans to launch the pill in the U.S. in January and already markets oral semaglutide under the brand Rybelsus for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.

The approval was supported by trial results showing that a once-daily 25 mg dose of oral semaglutide delivered an average 16.6% weight loss at 64 weeks, comparable to the results seen with the 2.4 mg injectable version.

Rival Eli Lilly is targeting approval of its oral obesity drug by early 2026. On December 18, Eli Lilly said its oral weight-loss drug Orforglipron helped patients maintain weight loss in a late-stage study involving people who had previously been treated with injectable therapies. Orforglipron delivered superior weight maintenance when coupled with a healthy diet and physical activity as compared to the placebo.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

Retail sentiment for NVO on Stocktwits remained in the ‘extremely bullish’ zone over the past 24 hours, amid ‘extremely high’ message volumes.

The stock was down 1.6% in premarket trading, and has declined more than 40% so far this year.

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