Semaglutide Tops Global Pharmaceutical Sales in Q1 2025: Spotlight on Wegovy and Market Expansion

Industry Review

During this reporting period, the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industry index increased by 1.50%, ranking 16th among the 31 primary industries in the Shenwan classification, underperforming the CSI 300 Index (1.56%). Among the sub-industries, medical devices and pharmaceutical distribution led the gains with increases of 3.92% and 2.38%, respectively; while medical R&D outsourcing experienced the largest decline, with a drop of 0.65%.

In terms of valuation, as of May 9, 2025, the PE (TTM overall method, excluding negative values) of the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industry was 26.77x (26.34x at the end of the previous period), with an increase in valuation, yet still below the average. The top three sub-industries within the SW Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology sector by PE (TTM overall method, excluding negative values) are vaccines (52.12x), hospitals (37.94x), and medical devices (32.59x), with a median of 27.13x, while pharmaceutical distribution (15.03x) has the lowest valuation.

During this reporting period, shareholders of 25 listed companies in the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industry of the two stock exchanges net reduced holdings by 7.88 billion yuan. Among them, nine companies increased holdings by 1.37 billion yuan, while 16 companies reduced holdings by 9.25 billion yuan.

As of May 9, 2024, among the 500 pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry listed companies we are tracking, 499 have disclosed their 2024 performance. Of these, 44 companies reported a year-over-year increase in net profit attributable to shareholders of ≥100%, while 63 companies reported an increase of ≥30% but <100%. Additionally, 64 companies reported a year-over-year increase in net profit attributable to shareholders of ≥30% in 2024, with positive net profit attributable to shareholders in 2023.

Important Industry Information:

NMPA: "Quality Management Standards for Medical Device Online Sales"

CDE: "Technical Guideline for Writing Risk Management Plans During the Development of Innovative Drugs (Draft for Comments)"

Nanjing Qingpu Bio: China's First Long-Acting Analgesic New Drug "Meloxicam Injection" Approved for Marketing by NMPA

Johnson & Johnson: "Guselkumab Injection (including subcutaneous and intravenous infusion)" approved by NMPA as the first IL-23 inhibitor in China for the treatment of ulcerative colitis

BeOne Medicines: "Zanubrutinib" Patent Infringement Case Won

Investment Advice:

GLP-1 weight-loss drugs are experiencing explosive growth trends in both the global and Chinese markets, with the industry entering a golden development phase. Globally, in the first quarter of this year, the combined sales of the two core products (tirzepatide for weight loss, Zepbound, and semaglutide for weight loss, Wegovy) reached nearly 5 billion US dollars, and the total annual sales are expected to exceed 20 billion US dollars; the Chinese market is showing an explosive trend.

Novo Nordisk's product, launched just four months ago, has already achieved nearly 1 billion yuan in sales, including 760 million yuan in the first quarter of this year. Annual sales are expected to approach 5 billion yuan, rapidly catching up with the mature hypoglycemic agent market scale. At the same time, the upstream raw material pharmaceuticals and CDMO sectors of the industry chain are benefiting from global capacity expansion demands. Breakthroughs by domestic companies in pilot-scale processes and cost control are expected to secure overseas orders. Moreover, the accelerated launch of domestically produced GLP-1 drugs (such as Masutide, etc.) may reshape the competitive landscape through differentiated pricing and channel advantages. We recommend focusing on companies with solid clinical data, sufficient production capacity reserves, and the ability to integrate the entire industry chain.

Risk Warning:

Policy falls short of expectations, R&D progress lags behind expectations, market risks intensify.