Innovent Biologics' "Lightning" commercialization: Is the potential of China's weight loss drug market underestimated?

On July 3, 2025, just a week after its listing, Masitide (brand name: XinErMei®) issued the first prescription in the country at Peking University People's Hospital, providing a brand new treatment option for hundreds of millions of overweight and obese individuals in China.

Unlike Semaglutide and Tirzepatide, which entered the market relying on blood sugar reduction, Masitide focuses on weight loss as its primary indication, gaining unprecedented popularity on e-commerce platforms and social media. This has sparked limitless imagination in the industry regarding the commercialization prospects of weight loss drugs in China, with many institutions predicting its peak sales could exceed 5 billion yuan.

Looking back at the global "weight loss revolution" commercialization achievements, Semaglutide and Tirzepatide, as first-mover players, have formed a duopoly in overseas markets. However, they also face significant real-world challenges in patient access: high prices, limited insurance coverage, and unstable supply continue to affect patient adherence.

In contrast, the domestic weight loss drug Masitide is rapidly covering public hospitals through channel advantages while also launching pre-orders in the retail market to build its reputation, directly targeting the consumer market's benefits. The entry of Masitide is just the beginning, with more domestic weight loss drugs poised to emerge.

The Chinese market may also face challenges similar to those in the United States, but due to the uniqueness of drug supply, channel ecology, and market payment aspects, the situation may differ. This article will further explore why the Chinese weight loss market still possesses unique and far beyond expected commercial imagination space.

Three Real-World Challenges in the U.S. Weight Loss Drug Market

The U.S. weight loss drug market started earlier than China's. What is the current state of its weight loss drug market?

After a series of product supply challenges, Semaglutide and Tirzepatide currently face pressures not only from potential competitors that will join the market in the future but also from immediate obstacles—evident patient discontinuation.

A study published in JAMA Network Open shows that among patients using GLP-1 receptor agonists, 53.6% chose to discontinue medication within a year, and 72.2% discontinued within two years. The discontinuation rate is even higher among non-type II diabetes patients, at 64.8% and 84.4%, respectively.

Side effects are one of the primary reasons cited by patients. Common side effects among GLP-1 users include vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea, and they may also face hair loss, muscle atrophy, and mood changes.

For example, vomiting has been reported at different and relatively high rates in clinical studies of the already marketed Semaglutide and Tirzepatide, as well as in Amgen's developing MariTide. This is a common side effect seen in all GLP-1R single-target and multi-target drugs.

At the same time, GLP-1 users experience muscle loss during medication, and after discontinuation, patients may quickly rebound in weight in the short term, with an increase in fat percentage, making them less healthy than before medication. This is also a core issue that the next generation of weight loss drugs aims to tackle.

Price barriers and payment difficulties are the third major challenge. The prices of injection pens from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are around $1,000 per month, which is too high, and insurance companies have been reluctant to provide extensive insurance coverage The United States' Medicare and Medicaid have yet to include GLP-1 for obesity in their coverage. The coverage situation for commercial insurance is highly unstable, with many insurance plans classifying weight loss medications as "lifestyle" drugs and refusing to pay for them, or setting extremely high payment thresholds, further limiting accessibility.

Pharmacy benefit managers also weigh price factors when formulating insurance plans. Despite Eli Lilly's products having better weight loss effects, the largest pharmacy benefit management (PBM) company in the U.S., CVS Caremark, still chose to switch from Eli Lilly's Zepbound to Novo Nordisk's Wegovy solely due to lower costs.

The fluctuations in insurance have kept patient out-of-pocket costs high. The exorbitant self-pay burden has become the most significant factor undermining patients' willingness to use long-term medication.

Hospitals + E-commerce + Commercial Insurance, Expanding the Weight Loss Market Pie

In the Chinese market, as a "challenger," Ma Shidu Peptide faces challenges in surpassing the "defenders." However, through its comprehensive layout strategy, the potential indicators of China's weight loss drug market are becoming increasingly clear.

Novo Nordisk's semaglutide (Ozempic®) took nearly 5 months from approval to the issuance of the first prescription in public hospitals, while Eli Lilly's tirzepatide (Mounjaro®) took even longer. In contrast, Ma Shidu Peptide was approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) on June 27 this year and issued the first prescription nationwide just 6 days later on July 3.

In this scenario, Innovent Biologics has benefited from the early market education of weight loss drugs and has perfectly leveraged the long-term channel advantages of local pharmaceutical companies in hospital networks and expert influence.

It is reported that the first prescription issued at Peking University People's Hospital was by Professor Ji Linong, the clinical research leader for Ma Shidu Peptide. The rapid rollout of the new drug is also attributed to Innovent Biologics' proactive production preparations and early engagement with hospitals to ensure immediate supply after drug approval.

At the same time, due to the limited number of obesity specialty outpatient clinics in public hospitals, Innovent began to layout external and online channels early on. Before Ma Shidu Peptide was approved, several e-commerce platforms such as Taobao and JD.com had already opened pre-sale services, locking in potential consumers through prepayment. Subsequently, Alibaba Health also opened appointment access, with the first batch of services covering more than ten provinces and cities, including Jiangsu, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Sichuan, and Beijing.

In terms of pricing, Ma Shidu Peptide is priced at 630 yuan/box on e-commerce platforms, with each box containing two injections, resulting in a monthly cost of approximately 1260 yuan for patients. Novo Nordisk's Ozempic costs about 1040 yuan per month, while Eli Lilly's Mounjaro ranges from 1600 to 2400 yuan per month. Ma Shidu Peptide's price is at the median, and Innovent's strategy is to compete on efficacy with the former and cost-effectiveness with the latter.

According to previous Phase III clinical results of Ma Shidu Peptide GLORY-1, Ma Shidu Peptide is more effective than semaglutide, with a significantly lower discontinuation rate due to side effects (0.5% in the 6mg group) compared to semaglutide (about 4%) and tirzepatide (about 3%). Of course, the actual effectiveness for patients still needs to be further validated after expanding the user base However, in the key obstacle that previously restricted the volume of the weight loss duo—supply ports, domestic pharmaceutical companies have a natural local advantage. Behind Ma Shidu Peptide, there are companies like Kelaiying, which has been involved in the entire API production process, completing process optimization and GMP compliance checks, as well as local manufacturers like Shengnuo Bio and Haofan Bio that provide support in key areas such as peptide APIs and condensation reagents, ensuring subsequent commercial production.

In addition, although GLP-1 drugs for weight loss indications have not yet been included in the national basic medical insurance, internet platforms have taken the lead in commercial insurance.

On the same day that Ma Shidu Peptide went on sale, on July 4th, Zhong An Insurance and Alibaba Health officially announced a cooperation agreement to provide a total insurance coverage of 216 million yuan for the first batch of 40,000 weight loss users, jointly launching the "No Weight Loss, Full Compensation" service, offering up to 5,000 yuan in coverage for users purchasing related products.

Alibaba Health will also collaborate with Eli Lilly, Innovent, and Yino to launch scientific weight loss programs, providing users with services such as "one-on-one exclusive doctor consultations and pharmacist services." Pharmaceutical companies, both in-hospital and out-of-hospital channels, and commercial insurance are working together to expand the cake of China's weight loss market.

Domestic GLP-1 "Assembly Call," Changes in China's Weight Loss Market

Currently, the GLP-1 products approved for weight loss in China mainly include semaglutide, a GLP-1R single-target agonist, and tirzepatide (GLP-1R/GIPR), Ma Shidu Peptide (GCGR/GLP-1R), which are dual-target agonists. In the development of single-target GLP-1 drugs, semaglutide has almost reached its peak, and future drug development and market competition strategies will focus on improving adverse reactions, long-acting formulations, and oral compliance.

The GLP-1R/GIPR dual agonist HRS9531 developed by Heng Rui Medicine has announced positive top-line results from its Phase III clinical trial (HRS9531-301) targeting obesity/overweight, with all dosage groups (2mg, 4mg, 6mg) significantly outperforming the placebo, and plans to submit a new drug application (NDA) to the NMPA soon. Products from companies like Gan Li Pharmaceutical and Xianweida have also achieved good weight loss results and may soon be launched to compete.

It is foreseeable that by 2026, the landscape of China's weight loss market will undergo a turning point. On one side, new players with products about to be launched; on the other side, the core compound patent of Novo Nordisk's semaglutide in China will expire, and generic drugs applied for listing by companies like Jiuyuan Gene, Lizhu Pharmaceutical, Sino-American East China, and Federal Pharmaceutical may take the stage.

The launch of Innovent's Ma Shidu Peptide marks the starting point for the further explosion of China's GLP-1 weight loss drug market. Channel innovation, local production capacity, and differences in payment environments mean that the future competition in China's weight loss market will no longer solely revolve around efficacy, but also focus on supply chain control, channel efficiency, payment scenarios, brand effects, and consumer ecosystem construction. These factors will collectively determine the commercialization height of weight loss drugs in China.

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