Pfizer opens Xianweiying pre‑orders in China

Pfizer’s weight-loss drug Xianweiying is now up for pre-order in China, weeks after regulators cleared it for long-term weight management. (globalbankingandfinance.com) (fiercepharma.com) Reuters found Xianweiying listed on a JD.com platform on April 22, with one 1.2-milliliter injector pen priced at 489 yuan, or about $72. The listing said shipping would begin on April 27. (globalbankingandfinance.com) The drug’s generic name is ecnoglutide, and Pfizer obtained exclusive commercialization rights in mainland China from Hangzhou-based Sciwind Biosciences on February 24. Sciwind said the deal could pay it up to $495 million in upfront, regulatory and sales milestones. (sciwindbio.com) Xianweiying is a glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, receptor agonist, the same broad class used in blockbuster obesity drugs from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. In simple terms, these medicines mimic a gut hormone that helps people feel full and eat less. (fiercepharma.com) Sciwind describes ecnoglutide as a cAMP-biased GLP-1 drug, meaning it is designed to favor one signaling pathway over others after it binds the receptor. The company said that mechanism is intended to offer a more precise treatment option for diabetes and long-term weight management. (sciwindbio.com) China’s National Medical Products Administration approved ecnoglutide in January 2026 for adult type 2 diabetes, and approved Xianweiying for obesity on March 6, 2026. Pfizer’s China unit is handling commercialization, while Sciwind remains responsible for research, manufacturing and supply. (sciwindbio.com) (fiercepharma.com) In a 48-week trial cited by Sciwind and Fierce Pharma, patients on the highest dose posted average weight loss of 15.4% from baseline, and nearly 93% lost at least 5% of body weight. Sciwind separately said Chinese patients achieved 15.1% placebo-adjusted weight loss in clinical studies. (fiercepharma.com) (sciwindbio.com) The launch drops Pfizer into a crowded China market where Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Innovent Biologics’ Xinermei are already selling online. Jefferies estimated 2025 sales at 260 million yuan for Wegovy and 416 million yuan for Xinermei across Alibaba’s Tmall and JD.com. (globalbankingandfinance.com) Pfizer has been trying to rebuild an obesity portfolio after scrapping its last in-house GLP-1 candidate in August 2025. Since then, it has turned to deals, including the Sciwind partnership in China and the acquisition of obesity drug developer Metsera. (fiercepharma.com) For now, the immediate change is simple: a newly approved Pfizer-branded obesity shot is moving from regulatory clearance to actual orders in China’s online pharmacy channels. (globalbankingandfinance.com)