Novo Nordisk has launched its blockbuster Wegovy weight-loss drug in China, adding the world’s second-largest economy to its growing list of markets where appetite for the drugs are rising.The first prescription for Wegovy in China will be issued at a public hospital in Shanghai this week and will cost about 1,

Novo Nordisk has launched its weight-loss drug Wegovy in China after it was approved by local health authorities in June. It is set to intensify competition with rival Eli Lilly, whose popular weight-loss treatment also got the green light months ago but has yet to go on sale in the world's second largest pharmaceutical market.

Patients in China will be able to purchase the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy for 1,400 yuan, or about $193, just a fraction of the US list price of $1,349, according to media reports.