Novo Sees Generic Ozempic Delayed in China Until Next Year
(Bloomberg) — Novo Nordisk A/S expects generic Ozempic to be delayed in China until next year, a positive step for the drugmaker as it battles to keep its share of the global obesity market.
The patent for semaglutide, the main ingredient in the blockbusters Ozempic and Wegovy, expired in China in March, sparking expectations for generic competition and falling prices. But Ozempic is entitled to regulatory data protection until April 2027 under the China-Switzerland Free Trade Agreement, the drugmaker said Wednesday.
Novo’s Swiss entity holds the Ozempic market authorization in China. The company said by email it believes local authorities “will comply with the agreement and protect companies’ legal rights accordingly.”
The delay helps Novo push back, at least for now, against a growing wave of Ozempic generics outside the US.
“Everyone thought there were a bunch of companies — nine, 10 companies — waiting” to introduce generics, said Zhao Heng, founder of Latitude Health, a Shanghai-based consultancy. “Nobody expected this.”
The setback should be a lesson for Chinese drugmakers to strengthen their legal departments, he said.
The impact of semaglutide generics extends beyond China and Novo’s portfolio, with cheap copies of Ozempic already gaining clearance in Canada and reshaping the obesity-medicine market in India.
The first Chinese company to apply for approval of a semaglutide generic, Hangzhou Jiuyuan Genetic Biopharmaceutical, said in March that its product’s review is suspended because it’s “subject to data protection provisions under agreements with governments of other countries.”
Neither the company nor the regulator in China immediately responded to requests for comment outside business hours.
Novo shares rose as much as 9.2% in Copenhagen after the drugmaker said its new Wegovy obesity pill fueled sales in the first quarter and this year’s revenue and profit declines wouldn’t be as bad as expected.
(Updates with consultant’s comment in fifth paragraph, change in Chinese drugmaker’s name in eighth)
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