On 16 October 2024, Chinese insulin maker Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals reported its development of an injectable GLP-1 agonist, GZR18, which it claims has outperformed Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic® (semaglutide) in reducing glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and body weight in a phase 2 trial for patients with type 2 diabetes. In the 24-week trial involving 264 patients, biweekly doses of GZR18 reportedly led to a greater HbA1c reduction (up to 2.32%) compared to semaglutide (1.60%) and a maximum weight loss of nearly 12 pounds, versus just over seven pounds for semaglutide.
Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals also announced positive results for two insulin analogues, GZR4 and GZR101, in type 2 diabetes trials, both reportedly outperforming Novo Nordisk’s Tresiba® (insulin degludec) and Ryzodeg® (insulin degludec/insulin aspart), respectively. In patients with poor glycaemic control, once-weekly GZR4 lowered HbA1c by 1.5%, slightly better than degludec’s 1.48%. In another trial, GZR101 lowered HbA1c by 1.56%, which was greater than Ryzodeg’s 1.31%.