Novo executive Cai Yan became the firm's Greater China president in March. She soon heard from doctors in China that the company's communications were weak compared with its competitors, Cai told Reuters. Some Novo rivals were more bold, talking about the benefits of a drug more directly in their messaging, she said.
"I focus very much on what we should do and what is the right thing to do, what we can learn from competitors," she said. "If you feel a competitor is much better in communication, layman language to the public, then we have to transform the way, how we communicate, from (a) medical educational perspective."
She said Novo is changing its approach to not only focus on doctors in hospitals, but to reach patients with information on obesity via different types of media. The drugmaker aims to make the language in its public communication more accessible.
Last month, Novo and state broadcaster CCTV held a health exhibit on a street in Beijing with group dancing, Novo said on WeChat, a messaging app. Text displayed at the exhibit said some GLP-1 therapies have been validated in multiple, large-scale clinical studies, a separate post from one Xiaohongshu user showed.
Some weight-management campaigns could also cross a line into drug advertising, medical and legal experts said. For example, Innovent and Meituan's subway billboards might lead consumers to associate them with a specific prescription weight-loss drug, said Chen Zhenggang, a partner at DeHeng Law Offices in Beijing.
The billboards did not explicitly display the names of Innovent's product - Xinermei or mazdutide - but included what appeared to be a mascot with a similar-sounding name: "Madudu."
“On one side, they're definitely trying to be compliant ... on the other side, you have drugs and you want to sell," said J.P. Morgan analyst Huang, referring to obesity awareness and educational programs in China.
Earlier this year, Lilly paused its local obesity awareness campaign in India after the nation's drug regulator said the company’s awareness campaign there had coincided with Mounjaro's India launch and could potentially promote the drug to consumers.
In a statement, Lilly said its educational activities do not promote any specific medicines and it is "consistent" with China's health strategies. Pfizer, Innovent, Meituan and China's market regulator declined or did not respond to requests for comment.
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