2026 edition of the Basic Medicines List announced: to be implemented on September 1st, and the glucose-lowering version of semaglutide is included.

On July 9, the National Health Commission and two other departments released the 2026 edition of the "National Essential Medicines List", which will be implemented from September 1. Semaglutide has been included in this edition of the essential medicines list, but it is only limited to the treatment of diabetes and does not include weight loss. Currently, Novo Nordisk is the only company producing semaglutide, but over 10 domestic pharmaceutical companies have already submitted applications for generic drugs. Novo Nordisk has stated that although the compound patent for semaglutide did expire earlier this year in China, the company still enjoys data exclusivity protection, allowing the patent protection for semaglutide to continue until the second quarter of next year, when generic drugs can legally enter the market.