Eli Lilly Scores Huge Win As China Adds Mounjaro To National Insurance — But Raises Fears Of A Brutal Pricing War

Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY) announced that its diabetes drug, Mounjaro, will be added to China’s state-run health insurance scheme from January 1, 2026.

Mounjaro Added to China Reimbursement List

The inclusion of Mounjaro on China’s national reimbursement list, as decided by its National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) on Sunday, will make the drug more accessible to the public.

However, the move could also drive down selling prices. Mounjaro, a once-weekly injectable treatment, entered the Chinese market in January, following Novo Nordisk's (NYSE:NVO) similar diabetes drug Ozempic, introduced in 2021. Ozempic was added to China's reimbursement list in 2022.

Meanwhile, Chinese drugmakers that previously drove a wave of copycat weight-loss treatments in the U.S. are now shifting to producing generics of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound, following tighter FDA regulations. In 2024, at least eight firms supplied raw ingredients for over a billion makeshift doses amid high demand.

See Also: Peter Schiff ‘So Close’ To Accepting Bitcoin’s Potential, Says Crypto Billionaire Changpeng Zhao, But The Economist Remains ‘Stubborn’

Eli Lilly Boosts Growth with Mounjaro

The addition of Mounjaro to China’s state insurance list comes at a time when Eli Lilly is making significant strides in the diabetes treatment market. The company’s diabetes drugs, including Mounjaro and Zepbound, have been driving its revenue growth.

In the third quarter of 2025, Eli Lilly reported a 54% increase in revenue, largely attributed to the success of Mounjaro and Zepbound. Eli Lilly's international president, Patrik Jonsson, during its earnings call, said the company saw strong initial stocking of Mounjaro in major markets such as China, Brazil, Mexico and India, and noted that performance continued to strengthen globally in the third quarter.

Earlier in December, Eli Lilly also announced a price cut for its weight-loss drug, Zepbound, to increase accessibility for patients in the United States. These strategic moves by Eli Lilly are not only expanding access to its drugs but also strengthening its competitive edge in the global pharmaceutical market.

READ NEXT:

• Eli Lilly Supremacy: How One Stock Is Dictating Performance Across Pharma ETFs

Image via Shutterstock

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.