# Pharma giant Novo licenses Chinese weight-loss drug — retained record

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source: [news](https://highsignal.app/data/news) (news:semafor)  published 2026-09-30 10:58 ingested 2026-10-01 03:03

[original source ↗](https://www.semafor.com/article/09/30/2026/danish-pharma-giant-novo-licenses-new-chinese-weight-loss-drug)

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Danish pharma giant Novo licensed a weight-loss treatment developed by a Chinese firm, highlighting advances in China’s increasingly cutting-edge biotech sector.
The firm behind the treatment, Hengrui Pharma, last year reached an even bigger agreement with GSK for the development of new drugs across multiple areas, including cancer; Novo has also previously signed a deal with another Chinese company for a different weight-loss drug.
The agreements cement a remarkable transformation: “Within living memory, China sent barefoot doctors into the countryside with herbal remedies and antibiotics in army-green satchels,” Kaiser Kuo of the Sinica Podcast noted, whereas AstraZeneca’s chief financial officer recently told Semafor that it is now “only a question of time” before Chinese pharma companies challenge global firms.
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