Novo Nordisk has launched its blockbuster Wegovy weight-loss drug in China, adding the world’s second-largest economy to its growing list of markets where appetite for the drugs are rising.The first prescription for Wegovy in China will be issued at a public hospital in Shanghai this week and will cost about 1,

Novo Nordisk has launched its weight-loss drug Wegovy in China after it was approved by local health authorities in June. It is set to intensify competition with rival Eli Lilly, whose popular weight-loss treatment also got the green light months ago but has yet to go on sale in the world's second largest pharmaceutical market.

Novo Nordisk's blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy is now available for use in China, the company confirmed to AFP on Tuesday, as the Asian nation battles high rates of obesity.A Novo Nordisk spokesperson confirmed to AFP on Tuesday that the drug was "now available in China" for the treatment of adults with obesity and those overweight with at least one weight-related comorbidity.