Inclusion in the national reimbursement list makes drugs more widely available to the public in a country with a population of 1.4 billion, but an increase in sales volume is often mitigated by lower prices.
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Ozempic was first added to China’s reimbursement list in 2022.
Sales of Ozempic in the greater China region rose to 5.76 billion Danish crowns ($898.5 million) in 2024, according to Novo’s annual report.
Lilly said in a statement the final reimbursement prices for Mounjaro as a diabetes treatment “will be subject to National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA)’s official announcement.” The NHSA did not immediately respond to a request for pricing.
another obesity and diabetes drugmaker.
“Even if approved and reimbursed only for diabetes, Chinese patients are too smart. Tirzepatide will be used off-label for obesity,” Tony Ren, head of Asia healthcare research at Macquarie Capital, told Reuters.
Mounjaro is also sold for obesity and obstructive sleep apnea in China.
“Although obesity treatments are typically priced at a premium compared to diabetes, the price cut for Mounjaro is likely to reshape the overall pricing structure for GLP-1 drugs, which could also affect Innovent’s mazdutide pricing,” Cui Cui, head of Asia healthcare at Jefferies, told Reuters.
Patrik Jonsson, Eli Lilly’s international president, said in an October earnings call that Lilly had seen an “initial stocking” in the markets it had launched Mounjaro outside the U.S., with the big ones in the second quarter being China, Brazil, Mexico and India.
“Since then, we have seen a lift in the performance also in those markets in Q3 and a continued very strong performance globally,” he said during that call.
($1 = 6.4105 Danish crowns)
Reporting by Andrew Silver; Editing by Jamie Freed and Stephen Coates
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