(Yicai) June 27 -- China may greenlight Innovent Biologics’ glucagon-like peptide-1 weight-loss drug, the first developed by a Chinese company, as early as this week. Once on the market, Mazdutide will compete with similar blockbuster products from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

Several private clinics in China have begun offering online appointments for the Mazdutide jab, the world's first glucagon/GLP-1 receptor dual agonist for weight loss. "The manufacturer informed us that the first batch will arrive any day now," a worker at one clinic told Yicai.

Denmark's Novo Nordisk and the US’ Eli Lilly currently dominate the global market for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, earning tens of billions of US dollars from the sale of treatments such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound.

The global market for weight-loss drugs will likely top USD150 billion by 2030, according to analysts at UK bank Barclays. China’s Fangzheng Securities expects the country’s market to near CNY40 billion (USD5.6 billion) by that year.

Mazdutide's pre-sale price is set at just over CNY1,000 (USD140) for a 2-milligram two-vial pack and CNY1,500 to CNY1,600 for a four-vial pack, the staffer noted. 

Suzhou-based Innovent previously said that a standard patient would need a starting dose of 2mg four-vial pack per month. Based on the price disclosed by the worker, the monthly cost of Mazdutide falls between that of Eli Lilly's Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) and Novo Nordisk's Semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy).

The price of GLP-1 agonists may drop with more weight-loss drugs getting approved, industry insiders pointed out.

Innovent’s shares [HKG: 1801] closed 1.6 percent lower at HKD77.35 (USD9.85) each in Hong Kong today. The stock has more than doubled in value since the end of last year.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev