Semaglutide Patent Expiry Opens Huge Market for Chinese Pharma

Semaglutide, which is marketed as Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for obesity, ranked among the top-selling drugs globally in 2024.

China’s Patent Expiring Early

While seven major markets secured patents for the drug until 2032, China’s patent is expiring much earlier, in March 2026 itself! According to GlobalData (a leading data and analytics company), Chinese pharmaceutical companies are aggressively developing manufacturing capabilities and regulatory approvals to capitalize on this multibillion-dollar market opportunity (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Semaglutide patent cliff to present substantial opportunity for companies in the Chinese generics market, says GlobalData

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Increasing Obesity and Diabetes Risk

China is a middle-income country in a rapid economic and epidemiological transition. Significant changes in life expectancy, lifestyle, and cuisine have resulted from decades of economic progress.

With these decades of progress comes the increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Alarmingly, the prevalence of diabetes in China has quadrupled over the last 15 years. Once ranked among the leanest populations in the world, China has been recording very high rates of overweight and obesity (2^✔ ✔Trusted Source
The Emerging Epidemic of Obesity, Diabetes, and the Metabolic Syndrome in China

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About 163 million people are expected to have obesity in 2024, rising slightly to 165 million by 2031. At the same time, around 59 million people are expected to have type 2 diabetes in 2024, increasing to 63 million by 2028. When the semaglutide patent expires in China, more people will be able to access these life-changing GLP-1 treatments, as local companies enter the market and increase competition by lowering prices.

Raising Drug Race To Make Semaglutide

Many Chinese drug companies are racing to make generic versions of semaglutide. According to GlobalData, 16 companies are at different stages of development: 2 in pre-registration, 10 in Phase III, 2 in Phase II, and 2 in Phase I. Huisheng Biopharmaceutical and CSPC Pharmaceutical Group are leading with pre-registration products, while others like United Laboratories, Huadong Medicine, and Qilu Pharmaceutical are in Phase III.

Big Opportunity For Chinese Pharma

The end of semaglutide’s patent gives Chinese companies a big opportunity to lead in diabetes and obesity treatments. Success will depend on strong manufacturing, smart launch timing, and regulatory know-how. Chinese firms are well-positioned to challenge big global players and bring more competition and lower prices to the market.

Referencess:

1. Semaglutide patent cliff to present substantial opportunity for companies in the Chinese generics market, says GlobalData - (https://www.globaldata.com/media/pharma/semaglutide-patent-cliff-present-substantial-opportunity-companies-chinese-generics-market-says-globaldata)
2. The Emerging Epidemic of Obesity, Diabetes, and the Metabolic Syndrome in China - (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3179874/)

Source-GlobalData