The global market for diabetes drugs used for treating obesity is expected to expand in Asia, as new players jostle with giants Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk for a share of the multibillion-dollar industry, with China providing a big opportunity for growth, analysts said.
The market for weight-loss drugs could see new entrants among existing biotech firms, with several drug candidates likely to be approved for commercial sales in the next five years, according to Francis Chow Chun-chung, founding president of Hong Kong Association for the Study of Obesity.
“With plenty of candidates in the pipeline, I expect three to five more drugs in this category to be approved within five years,” he said. “More competition will lead to more choices for patients and physicians and lower prices.”
Morgan Stanley last month raised its forecast for obesity-control drugs worldwide to US$150 billion by 2035 from US$105 billion, after increasing the size of population eligible for the drugs.
“We anticipate manufacturers’ focus on Asia’s obesity market will grow, particularly in China and Japan, where penetration is low and innovation continues to emerge,” analyst Thibault Boutherin said in a report.
Hong Kong-listed biotech firm Innovent Biologics is vying for a share of the Chinese market dominated by foreign drug makers. Its mazdutide drug is expected to receive approval for weight management and type 2 diabetes this year, the firm said in March.
