By Andrew Silver
SHANGHAI, April 22 (Reuters) - Pfizer’s GLP-1 weight management treatment Xianweiying is available for pre-order in China, a Reuters check on a local e-commerce platform showed, ramping up competition with rivals in a market analysts expect to be worth billions of dollars.
A spokesperson for Pfizer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A 1.2 ml Xianweiying injector pen with shipping beginning on April 27 costs 489 yuan ($72), according to one listing on a platform from JD.com reviewed by Reuters.
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The treatment, belonging to the class of GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs sold locally by drugmakers such as Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, and Innovent Biologics, props up Pfizer's footing in the booming weight-loss drug market.
Sales of Novo's Wegovy on Alibaba’s Tmall e-commerce platform and JD.com were 260 million yuan ($38 million) in 2025, against 416 million yuan ($61 million) for Innovent's Xinermei, investment bank Jefferies said in a note.
Pfizer licensed the mainland China commercialisation rights for Xianweiying, also known as ecnoglutide, from Sciwind, based in the eastern city of Hangzhou, in February. It has also recently acquired the obesity drug developer Metsera, as well as another experimental GLP-1 drug from another developer.
Ecnoglutide is also approved in China as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes.
(Reporting by Andrew Silver; Editing by Kim Coghill)