The first prescription for the drug in China will reportedly be issued at a public hospital in Shanghai this week and will cost about $193 for a one-month supply of the lowest dose.

Novo Nordisk A/S is launching its top-selling Wegovy obesity drug in China at a fraction of the US price, a key step in unlocking a big, fast-growing market for its blockbuster franchise.

Weight-loss drug makers are directly targeting employers in a campaign to expand health insurance coverage of their popular, but pricey, medications.

Patients in China will be able to purchase the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy for 1,400 yuan, or about $193, just a fraction of the US list price of $1,349, according to media reports.

Novo Nordisk reported forecast-beating third-quarter sales of its popular Wegovy weight-loss drug on Wednesday, reassuring investors worried that demand was slowing and it could lose the race in the fast-growing obesity drug market.

Wegovy is being made available to Chinese patients five months after its approval in the country. Novo will sell the medicine for about $193.27 for a one-month supply.

State Medicaid programs for low-income families are the single biggest source of coverage, giving 31.6 million people access to Novo Nordisk's Wegovy or Eli Lilly's Zepbound.

Novo Nordisk said on Monday it has launched its popular obesity drug Wegovy in China, the world's second-largest pharmaceuticals market where it estimates more than 180 million people live with obesity.

Lilly’s reps presented a slide deck that laid out data on the effectiveness of Lilly’s weight-loss drug Zepbound. The goal of the hourlong meeting with association leaders was to cement one core message: Obesity care is healthcare.

About 44% of U.S. employers with 500 or more employees cover drugs for weight loss in 2024, up from 41% in 2023, according to a survey from consulting firm Mercer released on Wednesday. Mercer also said 64% of U.