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Innogen's experimental drug approved for diabetes

treatment

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Innovent latest to secure China's approval for weight-loss

drug

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More weight-loss drugs seen coming onto the market,

analyst says

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Local competition in weight-loss drug market intensifying

By Andrew Silver

SHANGHAI, July 1 (Reuters) - Chinese drugmaker Innogen

expects to complete a late-stage clinical trial of its

experimental weight-loss drug candidate next year, its CEO said

on Tuesday, the latest Chinese company to join the race to

develop obesity treatments.

Chinese companies are rushing to develop drugs belonging to

the GLP-1 class of medications for weight loss and related

conditions as the patent of Novo Nordisk's

semaglutide, a key active ingredient in its best-selling Ozempic

and Wegovy drugs, is due to end in early 2026 in China.

"I think the Phase IIB will be out by the end of this year,

then Phase III will be (finished) by next year," Innogen CEO

Wang Qinghua told Reuters in an interview about the company's

experimental drug candidate.

Initial results from an early trial, published in June,

showed people on the experimental efsubaglutide alfa injection

lost about 7% of their body weight after four weeks.

By comparison, large-scale trials over a longer period for

Novo's weight-loss drug Wegovy helped people lose an average 15%

of their body weight, according to its clinical trial data.

Wang said the efficacy in Innogen's experimental injection

was not fully visible in the firm's drug study because of the

short evaluation time, adding the company expects to get more

significant weight reduction as it continues with more studies.

Chinese regulators have already approved the Shanghai-based

company's self-developed efsubaglutide alfa as a once-weekly

injection for the control of Type 2 diabetes in January.

CHEAPER OPTIONS

Yurou Zheng, an analyst at Morningstar, said the near-term

challenge for weight-loss drugs in China would be potential

price competition, as more drugs are coming online.

"I think many users are more likely to pivot to cheaper

options if the efficacy profiles are similar or even slightly

less superior as long as they are well within a few percentage

points," he said in a note.

On Friday, Chinese drugmaker Innovent Biologics ( IVBXF )

became the latest local company entering the increasingly

crowded weight-loss drug market, saying its treatment mazdutide,

which is licensed from Eli Lilly ( LLY ), was approved by the

country's regulators.

The Suzhou-based firm said in June that a Phase III trial

showed that after 24 weeks of treatment, 6 mg of mazdutide led

to about an 8% change in body weight from baseline.

Underscoring growing competitive pressure in China, India's

Biocon dropped plans to commercialise its weight loss

drugs in China, a senior executive told Reuters last week.

(Reporting by Andrew Silver; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Emelia

Sithole-Matarise)