Eli Lilly (LLY.US) invests an additional 3 billion US dollars in the Chinese weight loss market, aiming to produce locally and target a hundred billion dollar market.

To consolidate its leading position in the booming field of obesity treatment, American pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company (LLY.US) announced that it will invest approximately $3 billion in China over the next ten years to expand local production, with a focus on the weight loss track. Eli Lilly Company stated in a Wednesday release that this investment will be primarily used to build a local production line for its weight loss drug orforglipron, which is currently in the regulatory review phase in China. To complement its own production capacity, Lilly plans to collaborate with local enterprises, such as reaching a $20 million cooperation agreement with Pharmaron Beijing, aimed at jointly building the technical capabilities for producing this drug and other future therapies. Boosted by this news, Pharmaron Beijing's stock price surged up to 13% in Hong Kong trading on Thursday, marking its largest single-day increase since late July. As of the time of writing, Pharmaron Beijing's Hong Kong-listed shares rose by 8.28%, while Lilly's U.S. stock slightly declined by 0.52% in after-hours trading. Lilly is among the many multinational pharmaceutical companies seeking to leverage China's increasingly mature infrastructure for drug research, production, and its vast patient population. The company stated that its cumulative investments in China have reached nearly $6 billion. Its competitor Astrazeneca PLC Sponsored ADR (AZN.US) has also pledged to invest $15 billion in China by 2030. Since 2024, Lilly has established innovation incubators in Beijing and Shanghai, and expanded its Suzhou factory for producing its popular weight loss injection Mounjaro (tesamorelin). Recently, the company also entered into a collaboration agreement with INNOVENT BIO to explore new treatment methods. Currently, Lilly's Mounjaro in China is used for both diabetes and weight loss treatment, competing with local companies like Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B (NVO.US) and INNOVENT BIO. According to data provided by Lilly, there are approximately 148 million type 2 diabetes patients and over 500 million overweight or obese individuals in China.