jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Eli Lilly ( NYSE: LLY ) has secured China approval for its blockbuster drug tirzepatide for use in treating diabetes. Tirzepatide, a novel dual agonist at both the GLP-1 and the glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor, was cleared by the Chinese regulators for treating adults with type 2 diabetes, the U.S.
drugmaker said in a statement on Tuesday. Its use for chronic weight management is still under review, the company added. The drug, sold under the brand names Mounjaro and Zepbound, is an antidiabetic medication used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and for weight loss.
The China approval further intensifies competition between Eli Lilly’s ( LLY ) and its Danish rival Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) over weight-loss drugs in the world’s second-largest market. China is a strategically important market for Novo Nordisk ( NVO ), with GLP-1 treatments in diabetes and obesity likely to be its main growth drivers in the coming years, the company said at its Capital Markets Day event. The drugmaker expects its popular weight-loss drug Wegovy to be approved for sale in China this year, which it believes will “address the high unmet need for anti-obesity medications in the region.
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