By Andrew Silver
SHANGHAI, June 29 (Reuters) – GLP-1 drugs from Pfizer and Innovent Biologics have passed a preliminary review to be potentially included in China’s basic medical insurance drug catalogue, a list published by the National Healthcare Security Administration showed on Monday, a move which could lead to lower treatment prices.
Pfizer’s ecnoglutide and Innovent’s mazdutide, approved in China as treatments for weight management and type II diabetes, belong to the class of GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs already included in China’s state insurance list from drugmakers such as Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly and Guangzhou Innogen Pharmaceutical Group.
Linda Shu, head of China healthcare research at HSBC Qianhai Securities, said she did not anticipate a significant competitive challenge from Pfizer or Innovent specifically in the diabetes segment, but added that if included, their drugs’ retail prices may be reduced to align with public hospital pricing.
Innovent shares were up about 7% after the announcement.
Novo’s Ozempic was first added to China’s reimbursement list in 2022, followed by Lilly’s Mounjaro and Innogen’s efsubaglutide alfa from this year for patients with type II diabetes. Inclusion in the national reimbursement list makes drugs more widely available to the public in a country with a population of 1.4 billion, though an increase in sales volume is often mitigated by lower prices.
Sales of Ozempic injector pens in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong — Novo’s largest market after the U.S. — slipped 7% to about 5.4 billion Danish crowns ($853 million) in 2025.
Sales of GLP-1 treatments in China through major e-commerce platforms Alibaba and JD.com totalled about 1.4 billion yuan ($207 million) in the first quarter of 2026, according to Jefferies.
A spokesperson for Pfizer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for Innovent told Reuters that in terms of medical insurance coverage in China only treatment for diabetes could be considered.
Results of price negotiations with the National Healthcare Security Administration would be disclosed before the end of the year, though if negotiations for a drug failed, it would not be reimbursed in the following year, Shu said.
(Reporting by Andrew Silver; Additional reporting by Ethan Wang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Tom Hogue and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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