China to Add Pfizer, Innovent Drugs to Health Insurance for Diabetes From Jan. 1, 2027
Key Facts
Reuters reported on Nov. 14 that China will include ecnoglutide, marketed by Pfizer, and mazdutide, from Innovent Biologics, in the government health insurance system for type 2 diabetes, with coverage taking effect on Jan. 1, 2027. The report cited China’s National Healthcare Security Administration. The listing places the two drugs on the government reimbursement list, expanding their availability to patients in China. This comes in a market Reuters said has the world’s largest number of adults with diabetes, according to an estimate by the International Diabetes Federation. According to Reuters, listing drugs for reimbursement enables broader access in a country with a population of 1.4 billion.
The decision concerns two drugs from different companies, with a distinction in how each company’s role is described. Reuters called ecnoglutide a Pfizer drug, while a Pfizer statement issued on Nov. 3 said it was developed by Sciwind and that Pfizer markets it in China. Innovent described mazdutide as a dual agonist of the GCG and GLP-1 receptors. This description places the drug in a class targeting two receptor pathways, rather than grouping it solely with GLP-1 drugs. The coverage start date set for both drugs remains Jan. 1, 2027, according to the report.
Reuters links government coverage to broader access to medicines, but also says that increased sales volume often comes with lower prices. This trade-off suggests that the listing could expand the pool of patients able to obtain treatment, while prices remain an important factor in the impact of coverage on companies. The report gave no specific sales forecast for ecnoglutide or mazdutide after their listing. The news therefore points to wider availability and the possibility that volume growth will be associated with lower prices, rather than a quantitative estimate of the drugs’ revenue. Reuters says this pattern is generally associated with drugs being added to the national reimbursement list.
The two drugs’ listing comes as part of a reimbursement list that includes competing treatments that gained coverage in China earlier. Reuters said Ozempic was added to the list in 2022, followed the next year by Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and efsubaglutide alfa from Guangzhou Innogen for type 2 diabetes. This sequence provides context for the expansion of coverage in the category over consecutive years. With Pfizer’s and Innovent’s drugs set to be listed in 2027, the group of drugs named on the list for the same disease will grow. Innovent describes mazdutide’s mechanism as dual targeting of the GCG and GLP-1 receptors.
The current list, published in November 2025 and effective since Jan. 1, 2026, includes 3253 Western and traditional Chinese medicines, as well as 892 types of Chinese herbal decoctions with national standards, according to China’s National Healthcare Security Administration. The administration said the 2025 list took effect on Jan. 1, 2026, and also published procedures for the annual list adjustment in 2026. The 2026 adjustment cycle was announced on May 31, with applications set to be submitted between June 1 and 10 of the same year. The administration said that, starting in 2027, the application deadline will be tied to the publication date of the adjustment plan. This places the drugs’ scheduled listing on Jan. 1, 2027, within a system the administration oversees through announced annual adjustment cycles.
In trading, Pfizer shares closed at $28.89 each, while Innovent shares, listed under the ticker IVBXF, closed at $11.08 on Nov. 13, 2026, according to EL7 data. On Nov. 11, Pfizer closed at $29.45, compared with $28.89 on Nov. 13. Innovent closed at $11.09 on Nov. 11 and then $11.08 on Nov. 13. These prices show the two stocks’ moves in the sessions before the Nov. 14 report and do not, by themselves, measure the impact of the listing announcement. Government coverage for both drugs takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027, according to Reuters.