(Yicai) Nov. 13 -- Eli Lilly’s Chinese arm said the US drugmaker’s weight-loss pill orforglipron, a small-molecule glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, has become the first GLP-1 oral drug to receive the green light for adult weight management in China.

The National Medical Products Administration approved orforglipron as a Class 1 new drug for weight management in obese and overweight adults with at least one weight-related comorbidity as an adjunct to diet and increased physical activity, Eli Lilly China announced yesterday. The company is also researching the pill to treat type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, knee osteoarthritis pain, hypertension, peripheral arterial disease, and stress urinary incontinence, it added.

Orforglipron ’s indication for type 2 diabetes in adults is under review by the NMPA, Lilly pointed out.

Lilly’s top obesity drug tirzepatide generated more than USD43.7 billion in revenue in the first nine months of this year. But the injection’s accessibility is affected because some patients are afraid of needles and the need for refrigerated transport or storage. Orforglipron, which is taken once a day, addresses these pain points, according to the company.

In April, the US Food and Drug Administration approved orforglipron for weight loss in adults, making it the world’s first oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist. The drug has brought USD281 million in revenue since launching in the second quarter, including USD184 million last quarter, according to Lilly’s latest earnings report.

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk also has a GLP-1 weight-loss pill, the oral version of semaglutide. China has approved the drug for blood sugar control, while regulators accepted its application for long-term weight management in August.

On Nov. 9, the FDA said that using GLP-1 receptor agonists may increase the risk of a rare eye disease that can lead to permanent vision loss, requiring applicants for all related drugs to add a risk warning. According to the list, drugs with the warning include injectable semaglutide, liraglutide, and tirzepatide, as well as the semaglutide and orforglipron pills.

Editor: Martin Kadiev