The PlushCare care team will contact your insurer to confirm whether your plan covers the cost of the medication. If it does, the insurer may require pre-authorization each time your dose increases, so consider discussing this with your plan provider in advance. Ro Body is a weight loss program available through the telehealth company Ro. While there is not currently a shortage of Ozempic, previous difficulties in supplying this medication have led to some pharmacies offering compounded semaglutide. Goldman Sachs analysts estimated in an August report that generics could lead to a price reduction of around 25% for semaglutide in China.
With Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide patent set to expire in China in 2026, local companies are readying generics to grasp market share. The biosimilar development place in China, particularly for semaglutide, is fraught with challenges. Regulatory barriers frequently delay approval processes, obstructing the introduction of affordable alternatives.
Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy weight loss drug approved in China
Semaglutide Drug ClassSemaglutide 99 powder, also known as Ozempic in other countries, is the same product. This medication is a member of the GLP-1 receptor agonist medicine class. It reduces blood sugar levels by imitating the effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1).
For cardiovascular health
The core patent of the drug in China, “acylated GLP-1 compounds”, will expire on March 20, 2026, and the development of domestic semaglutide biosimilars is accelerating. According to the Insight database, as of February 5, more than 20 domestic semaglutide products have entered the clinical approval and above stage. Among them, 4 products have been applied for listing, from Jiuyuan Gene, Livzon Group, Qilu Pharmaceutical, and United Pharmaceutical, and the first indications are all type 2 diabetes. At the same time, the original drug is also facing patent challenges initiated by domestic companies. Surrounded by wolves, it can be foreseen that the competition for this global single product will be extremely fierce in the future. Currently, over 11 companies are advancing through clinical trials, indicating a swift market transformation.
These providers partner with compounding pharmacies that then mix the prescribed drug from bulk ingredients. For the indication of weight loss, no domestic semaglutide has been reported for production, but there are products under development that have entered Phase III clinical trials. The weight management indication of semaglutide applied for by Federal Biotech (Zhuhai Hengqin), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Federal Pharmaceutical, was approved for clinical trials in April 2023. It is the first company in China to obtain clinical approval for the weight management indication of this biosimilar.
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That comes out to as little as $10 per weekly 2.5-microgram dose – not including overhead and other costs. At least 28 companies mostly in China, are registered with the FDA to produce or distribute semaglutide. At least half the companies have entered the market in the past 12 months, driving the raw material’s price down by 35%, according to Scott Welch, who runs a 503A pharmacy in Arlington, Virginia. The approval comes as the patent on the drug’s active ingredient, Semaglutide, is set to expire in China in 2026 and as competition heats up from domestic drug makers in the market. The drug will initially be available to patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 30kg/m2 — the threshold for obesity — and at least one weight-related comorbidity, it added.
- It is used specifically for the management of type 2 diabetes and obesity, and should be taken as prescribed by a healthcare professional.
- It is crucial to understand why safety matters when purchasing semaglutide.
- We strictly control product quality, which means selection starts from raw materials.
- Aside from Hangzhou Jiuyuan Gene Engineering, several other companies are developing their own weight-loss candidates, including United Laboratories, Huadong Medicine and CSPC Pharmaceutical Group.
- This is to ensure that their business practices and medical-related claims continue to align with Medical News Today’s brand integrity standards and approach to well-being.
Counterfeit or unregulated medications carry serious risks, including toxic ingredients and improper dosages. Many online sellers are unregulated, and purchasing from them can lead to fraud, identity theft, or dangerous health problems. Always remember that semaglutide should only be used under the supervision of a healthcare provider to ensure it is safe and effective for your specific health needs.
The pharma is also challenging a previous patent ruling that found its protections over semaglutide to be invalid, according to Reuters. In the former case, people have none of the protections they would have when taking a properly prescribed drug. In the latter case, they may be wasting money on something that is at best ineffective, and at worst dangerous. For now, the vials of compounded semaglutide WIRED ordered are sitting in the back of a fridge untouched.
When looking for semaglutide online, it is essential to use pharmacies that are verified and licensed. These pharmacies are approved to sell medications and follow strict quality and safety standards. The price of semaglutide depends on where you live, where you buy it, and whether you use insurance. In the United States, without insurance, the average cost for a monthly supply of Ozempic (one injection pen with a 1 mg dose) ranges from $900 to $1,000.
Semaglutide 99 Powder
It is also illegal for websites to sell semaglutide without asking for a valid prescription. Some of these sellers are located in other countries, where they may not follow the same regulations. By buying from such sources, you could unintentionally take part in illegal activity.
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Citing clinical trial records, Reuters noted that at least 11 of these upcoming competitors are in late-stage studies. The frontrunner, a gene engineering and biochemical drugs company called Hangzhou Jiuyuan Gene Engineering, announced that its developmental generic has achieved comparable efficacy and safety to Ozempic. Another possibility is that buyers are getting “compounded” versions of semaglutide.
Pharmaceutical companies such as Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have now developed GLP-1 drugs specifically for weight loss. Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide (under the brand name Wegovy) is now approved as a treatment for obesity and weight-related health conditions in the UK, the EU and elsewhere. With a potential customer base of most people—and that’s in the US alone—at least one industry analyst projects annual sales of GLP-1s could be how to take semaglutide tablets up to $100 billion within the next decade.