--- title: "China’s Creating Cheapo Versions of Ozempic That Could Majorly Shake Up the Market" description: "As China prepares to beef up its weight loss drug market, the Danish firm that makes Ozempic may soon have its dominance threatened." date: "2024-06-08" modified: "2024-06-08" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/china-cheap-ozempic-competitors" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "RX and Medicine" tags: - "china" - "glp-1" - "ozempic" - "wegovy" --- # China’s Creating Cheapo Versions of Ozempic That Could Majorly Shake Up the Market ![As China prepares to beef up its weight loss drug market, the Danish firm that makes Ozempic may soon have its dominance threatened.]() *\Image: Jaap Arriens / NurPhoto via Getty / Futurism\* ## Competition Gaining As China prepares to beef up its weight loss medication market, the Danish firm that makes Ozempic and Wegovy may soon have its dominance threatened. As [*Reuters* reports,]() Chinese drug manufacturers are working on creating at least 15 generic versions of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist drugs as Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk makes money hand over fist in the region. Approved for [sale in China in 2021](), Novo saw the diabetes drug Ozempic sales in the country nearly double over the last few years, topping out at nearly $700 million. While the Denmark-based company expects the drug's weight-loss counterpart Wegovy to be approved in China later this year, competitors are springing up to get in on the GLP-1 cash cow. In doing so, these [competitors may reduce sales margins]() for the brand-name drug, which is [already way cheaper in China]() than in the United States. ## Legalese Though Novo won an exclusive patent on Ozempic and Wegovy's active ingredient semaglutide in China, it's expected to expire in 2026. With more than a dozen generic versions currently in trials, those Ozempic competitors won't hit Chinese shelves until then — but with a protracted legal battle over a [patent invalidation ruling]() entering its second year, that timeline could potentially be sped up as well. Among the frontrunners of the would-be Chinese semaglutide sellers is Hangzhou Jiuyuan Gene Engineering, whose version of semaglutide is said to have "similar clinical efficacy and safety" to Ozempic. The company applied for sales approval in April of this year and expects it to be granted by the end of 2025, though as *Reuters* notes, it doesn't plan to sell its drug until either the semaglutide patent expires in 2026 or a court rejects Novo's appeal of an invalidation ruling in 2022. In a statement to *Reuters*, a Novo spokesperson said that the company "welcomes healthy competition." If these challenges end up [driving prices of the expensive drugs]() even [lower than they have already](), however, it's hard to imagine the company remaining cavalier as its [stranglehold of the market]() continues to shrink. **More on Ozempic:** [*So, So Many Kids Are Taking So, So Much Ozempic*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()