Big pharma partnerships can boost home-grown type 2 diabetes drugs commercialization in China

The recent approval of Hua Medicine’s (HK: 2552) first-in-class diabetes drug - HuaTangNing (dorzagliatin tablets, HMS5552) - in China, in collaboration with Germany’s Bayer (BAYN: DE), puts an end to a decade-long wait for molecules with a new mechanism of action, as well as marked the initiation of international partnerships by domestic companies for T2D market in China, says data and analytics company GlobalData.

China has shown the highest prevalence of diagnosed T2D cases among the 16 major markets (16MM*), with a higher prevalence in women (6.7%) than in men (6%) in 2022. The population between 40 to 80 years is most expected to see a rise in diagnosed cases at an annual growth rate of 3.3% from 6 million in 2022 to 6.7 million in 2028, according to GlobalData’s Pharmaceutical Intelligence Center.

GlobalData pharma analyst Atulana Dey commented: “Over the past few decades, China has witnessed a steep rise in T2D patients, majorly owing to a greater percentage of geriatric population, sedentary lifestyle and poor living choices like smoking and excessive consumption of alcohol that elevates the body’s sugar levels.”