China has announced plans to add a second GLP-1 diabetes medication to its National Essential Drug List, requiring all public hospitals in the country to prioritize carrying it, according to a government statement released Thursday.
As the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical market, China also holds the grim distinction of having the highest number of adults with diabetes globally, according to figures from the International Diabetes Federation.
The drug in question is semaglutide, which will be added to the national essential medicines list under the insulin and blood glucose-lowering category, effective September 1. Currently, only the Ozempic brand version of the drug has received approval in China.
Justin Wang, a partner at global strategy consultancy L.E.K. Consulting based in Shanghai, told Reuters the listing would ensure the medication reaches patients far beyond major cities. “We can expect semaglutide and other newly added NEDL drugs to become much more accessible across the country,” he said.
Wang also noted that placing semaglutide on the essential drug list would “pave the way for generics to be broadly listed” once those generic versions receive approval in China. He added that semaglutide is the second GLP-1 medication to receive this designation, following liraglutide, an older drug in the same class.
The government statement made no reference to obesity, a condition that some GLP-1 medications are also used to treat.
Sales of Ozempic injector pens across mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong — which together represent Novo Nordisk’s largest market outside the United States — declined 7% to roughly 5.4 billion Danish crowns, or approximately $853 million, in 2025. Novo Nordisk did not respond to a request for comment on whether the new listing was expected to boost revenue for the drug in China.
The patent on semaglutide’s active ingredient expired in China in March, though the company retains regulatory data protection through early next year.
