American depositary receipts (ADRs) of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk (NVO) rose Tuesday on the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) after the company announced that its ﷽popular weight-loss drug Wegovy has been apprꦍoved to start being sold in China.

The treatment for overweight and obese patients was approved "recently" by China's National Medical Products Administration, according to a translation of a Chinese release from Novo Nordisk released Tuesday morning.

Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy have 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:exploded in popularity over the last several years, boosting the company's earnings and stock price to make it the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:most valuable company in Europe, while its U.S. competitor Eli Lilly (LLY) has seen 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:similar growth thanﷺks to its weight-loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound.

Wegovy To Joi🧸n Ozempic in Treating Obesity,𝕴 Diabetes in China

Novo Nordisk said it held 76.6% of the GLP-1 market for treating diabetes in the mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan region as of last November, and said its 6.21 billion Danish kroner ($890.7 million) in 2023 sales represented year-over-year growth of nearly 80% at constant exchange rates.

The Danish🎀 drugmaker did not release information Tuesday about how much Wegovy will cost in China, or how much of the drug it plans to sell in the country as it continues to deal with demand outpacing supply in much of the world for Ozempic and Wegovy.

The company said in March that it expected approval in China sometime this year, with many patients expected to pay out of pocket after the drug launches, according to Reuters. Novo Nordisk's patent for Wegovy in China expires in 2026, the report said.

The announcement comes a day after Novo Nordisk said it plans to spend just over $4 billion expanding its U.S. manufacturing with a new facility in North Carolina as part of a broader $6.8 billion effort to boost capacity this year. The company has also completed a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:number �🐈�of acquisitions over the last year to 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:increase its production.

ADRs of Novo Nordisk were up nearly 3% to $146.49 as of 10 a.m. ET Tuesday, and have risen over 40% so far this year.ও