Eli Lilly & Co is partnering with Chinese online healthcare platform JD Health International Inc. to sell its blockbuster drugs for obesity and diabetes online, following in competitors’ footsteps to drive sales through direct-to-consumer channels.
The tie-up will ease access to Lilly’s drugs treating obesity, diabetes and alopecia through a one-stop service via JD Health’s platform that combines consultations, prescriptions all the way to the drug delivery and subsequent follow-ups, according to an official statement from Lilly’s official WeChat account on Friday. Lilly markets Mounjaro for both obesity and diabetes in China.
E-commerce channels are emerging as a crucial battlefield for the GLP-1 drug market in China, which analysts estimate could grow to between $5.6 billion and $11.4 billion a year. That marks a shift from drugmakers’ traditional reliance on public hospitals for the bulk of prescription sales.
China’s state medical insurance has previously said it won’t cover drugs for weight loss purposes, prompting drugmakers to prioritise retail drug channels such as online shops and pharmacies.
Novo Nordisk, Lilly’s chief rival, struck similar pacts earlier this year with JD Health, as well as other online health platforms including Tencent Health, Ping An Healthcare and Technology Co. and Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd.
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly also face competition from up-and-coming Chinese brands led by Innovent Biologics, whose weight loss drug mazdutide became available through online channels days after its approval in late June.
By Amber Tong
Learn more:
Wellness Wants in on the Ozempic Economy
From supplements to workout plans, the term GLP-1, the hormone associated with Ozempic, is popping up on a widespread range of new products as wellness brands join in on the weight loss drug boom.
