Original title: China Singapore Health | Face to face! Here comes the competitor of Smeglutide

China News Network, May 23（ Reporter Zhang Ni ）The weight loss indication of Smeglutide has not been approved in China, Lilly came with competitive products. At the end of this golden track for weight loss, is it still a "price war"?

Two heavy products face off

On the 21st, Lilly China announced that Mufengda (Tilpodide injection) was approved by the National Drug Administration (NMPA).

It is reported that this drug is an innovative weekly glucose dependent insulin stimulating polypeptide (GIP)/glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, which is applicable to adult type 2 diabetes patients who still have poor blood glucose control after receiving metformin and/or sulfonylurea drugs on the basis of diet control and exercise.

Screenshot from the official website of the State Food and Drug Administration

The name of Tilpolutide may be a little strange, but its competitor, Smegluptide, is already well-known. Both belong to glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. These drugs can be used in many therapeutic fields such as diabetes and obesity.

According to Novo Nordisk's financial report data, in the first quarter of 2024, Novo Nordisk's three Smeglutide products with different indications and dosage forms achieved a total revenue of about DKK 42.2 billion (about 44.3 billion yuan at the latest exchange rate), accounting for about 65% of the total revenue, which is worthy of being a "blockbuster product".

In May 2022, Tilpodide's diabetes indication was approved for marketing in the United States, and that year it contributed $483 million to Lilly's revenue. Thereafter, after the weight loss indication of Tilpodide was approved in the United States on November 8, 2023, less than two months later, the income was 176 million dollars.

Previously, Smeglutide injection and oral medicine have been approved for use in diabetes indications in China. Lilly China revealed that the diabetes indication of tilporide will be commercially available in the fourth quarter of this year, when the price will be announced.

Although the weight loss indications of Smeglutide and Tilpoltide have not yet been officially approved in China, the confrontation between the two has been full.

Is the end of the weight loss track also a "price war"?

According to the data released by the International Diabetes Federation, the number of adult diabetics in the world will reach 537 million in 2021, including about 140 million in China. The Report on Nutrition and Chronic Diseases of Chinese Residents (2020) shows that the overweight rate and obesity rate of residents aged 18 and above in China are 34.3% and 16.4% respectively.

Obviously, the attraction of the Chinese market is huge and it is a "must fight".

However, Smeglutide has taken the lead in landing in the Chinese market. According to the first quarterly report in 2024, Novo Nordisk's market share in the GLP-1 drug treatment of diabetes in China is 78.2%. It is still unknown whether telpoleptide will be able to make it to the next place.

In addition, Novo Nordisk and Lilly also face more challenges of "latecomers".

On May 20, Hims&Hers Health, an American health consumer company, announced that it would launch the compound GLP-1 weight-loss injection, Compound Semalutide, for the first time.

Its active ingredients are the same as those of popular brand weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, and the price is about 199 dollars. According to the price of Wegovy, a slimming version for Smeaglutide injection, in the US market at US $1350, the price of Hims&Hers Health's formula injection version will be reduced by 85%. On the same day, Hims&Hers Health shares closed up 27.66%.

On the other hand, Wegovy's patent will expire in China in 2026, and Novo Nordisk will also face domestic generic drugs and a host of competitive innovative drugs.

In this view, it may be difficult to avoid a "price war" in the future. At the beginning of May, Novo Nordisk said that because of its huge sales and fierce competition, Novo Nordisk planned to reduce the price of its weight loss drug Wegovy in the United States. Of course, this is a good thing for patients.