Weight-loss drugs are big business. Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster offering Wegovy is expected to be approved for sale in China this year. That would be another boost for the Danish company. But battered local drugmaker shares have even bigger upside potential.

Demand for weight-loss solutions is high in China, where obesity rates among Chinese adults have also more than doubled in less than two decades. The proportion of adults classified as overweight and obese in China reached 50.7 per cent in 2022.

Wegovy can lead to weight loss because it suppresses the appetite by mimicking the actions of a gut hormone called GLP-1. This class of drugs was originally designed to treat type 2 diabetes. Nomura estimates China’s GLP-1 market could grow at 23 per cent a year — faster than the global average — to $11.4bn in 2033.