Chinese researchers make big progress in weight-loss drug research

BEIJING -- Chinese researchers have made big progress in obesity treatment drug research, with the home-grown Mazdutide showing impressive weight-loss effects as well as benefits for metabolic health.

Recently featured in the world-renowned New England Journal of Medicine, the Phase III clinical trial results showed Mazdutide not only demonstrated significant weight-loss results but also offered additional benefits, including reductions in waist circumference, blood pressure, blood lipids and uric acid levels, said Ji Linong, lead researcher and director of the Department of Endocrinology at Peking University People's Hospital.

This milestone places the clinical research of China's independently developed weight-loss drug among the world's leading efforts, said Xiao Ruiping, deputy editor-in-chief of the prestigious international medical journal.

Curbing overweight and obesity is a daunting challenge around the world. Projections indicate that, by 2050, more than half the adult population worldwide will be living with overweight and obesity, according to the journal.

In China, the number of people with overweight and obesity has risen sharply over the past four decades, significantly increasing the risk of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and premature death.

In response to global health needs, multiple pharmaceutical companies both in China and abroad have stepped up efforts to develop new weight-loss drugs.

In a guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of obesity released by China's national health authority in 2024, medication was listed among the recommended approaches. To date, China has approved five weight-loss medications, with Semaglutide and Orlistat currently available on the domestic market.

Although medication is a proven stepping stone of progress regarding therapies for obesity, it is only one part of the expansive public health toolbox to curb obesity in China.

In 2008, China designated Aug. 8 as its National Fitness Day, and the growing public awareness of health has resulted in a boom in both the fitness and light food industries.

A nationwide campaign to combat obesity is well underway, with weight management clinics being established in hospitals across the country, healthy dietary guidelines released by the national nutrition authority, and primary and secondary schools in many regions implementing the "one physical education class per day" policy.

Despite the effectiveness of weight-loss drugs, experts caution that they are not a panacea, emphasizing that a combination of medication and lifestyle interventions is more effective than either approach alone.