SHANGHAI, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Jiuyuan Genetic Biopharmaceutical has applied for approval to sell its experimental biosimilar version of Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy in China, the Chinese drugmaker said Wednesday.
The move comes ahead of a key patent expiry in the world’s second largest pharmaceutical market.
In a filing, Jiuyuan, based in the eastern city of Hangzhou, told the Hong Kong stock exchange it was seeking approval to sell Jikeqin for weight management to the obese or overweight.
Biosimilars are close copies of biological drugs.
Jiuyuan said results of a Phase III trial in subjects with obesity showed Jikeqin was “clinically equivalent” to a reference drug in terms of its safety profile, and in the percent change in patient body weight from baseline after 44 weeks after treatment.
The trial enrolled 370 patients, Jiuyuan said in its 2024 annual report. A spokesperson for Jiuyuan told Reuters the comparator drug was Wegovy.
Jiuyuan is among drugmakers in China developing biosimilar versions of Wegovy or a Novo diabetes drug, Ozempic, ahead of the March expiry of the patent on the two drugs’ active ingredient in the country.
It is also seeking approval in China for its experimental biosimilar version of Ozempic.
Wegovy sales on Alibaba’s Tmall e-commerce platform and JD.com stood at 260 million yuan ($38 million) in 2025, against 416 million yuan ($61 million) for rival Xinermei from Innovent Biologics, investment bank Jefferies said in a recent note.
(Reporting by Andrew Silver; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
