(Yicai Global) March 19 -- Baheal Pharmaceutical is hopeful that Nida, a generic diabetes treatment it developed, will be approved for the Chinese market this year as deliveries to the US began yesterday.

Nida will sell for CNY1,000 (USD148.90) per 60 tablets in the US, much cheaper than its brand-name drug Fortamet. In China, it is expected to cost just 1 percent of that, according to sources.

Developed by Japan's Shionogi, 60 500-milligram tablets of Fortamet retail for USD2,085.70 at US pharmacy chain CVS and USD2,160.60 at grocery outlets of Albertsons.

The high-end generic drug improves on Fortamet, allowing active ingredients to be released evenly in the human body to achieve more stable blood concentration. Users can regulate their blood-sugar levels by taking it once a day.