Global CXO companies are struggling to recover, while China leads the breakthrough and takeoff.

Meanwhile, leading Chinese CXO enterprises have proactively positioned themselves in these emerging areas—building differentiated competitive advantages through technological R&D iteration, capacity expansion, and talent acquisition—thus gaining the initiative in securing orders within these nascent sectors. Among them, WuXi AppTec and WuXi Biologics have already entered the global top tier in fields such as TIDES (peptides and oligonucleotides) and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). WuXi AppTec has successfully extended its mature end-to-end service model from small-molecule drug development into the oligonucleotide and peptide (TIDES) domain, establishing a dedicated business unit for oligonucleotides and peptides. WuXi AppTec’s projected 2025 revenue stands at RMB 45.456 billion, representing a 15.84% year-on-year increase. Its TIDES business (oligonucleotides and peptides) has emerged as a new growth engine: in the first three quarters of last year, TIDES revenue reached RMB 7.84 billion—a staggering 121.1% increase year-on-year. This scale already surpasses Corden Pharma’s full-year 2025 revenue of €960 million. With newly added capacity ramping up quarter by quarter—especially after the Taixing peptide manufacturing facility was completed ahead of schedule in September 2025—WuXi AppTec’s total solid-phase peptide synthesis reactor volume has exceeded 100,000 liters, accelerating performance growth through rapid capacity release. Additionally, other leading domestic CXO players—including Asymchem and Pharmaron—are also actively expanding their peptide capabilities. Industry consensus currently holds that Asymchem ranks second only to WuXi AppTec in peptide production capacity, with an estimated solid-phase peptide synthesis capacity exceeding 40,000 liters in 2025. According to disclosures from Asymchem, its CDMO business is primarily driven by the rapidly growing weight-loss therapeutic area; it is already collaborating on over a dozen molecules in this field, with projects expected to enter PPQ (Process Performance Qualification) stage in 2026. As China’s first domestically developed peptide-based weight-loss therapy gains commercial approval, peptide capacity utilization is steadily rising. Pharmaron has built solid-phase synthesis capacity at its Shaoxing site, focusing on manufacturing novel modalities including peptides and oligonucleotides. Its automated peptide synthesis platform is now serving global clients and has secured orders from European and American customers. In 2025, Pharmaron delivered its first GMP-grade peptide project. By comparison, Pharmaron entered the peptide business relatively later—but unexpectedly became the “chosen one” of global industry leader Eli Lilly. On March 11, Eli Lilly announced plans to invest $3 billion in China over the next decade to comprehensively expand its domestic supply-chain capacity, with a particular focus on manufacturing capabilities for Orforglipron—the company’s first oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist. Eli Lilly China submitted its marketing application for Orforglipron (for treating type 2 diabetes and obesity) to China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) at the end of last year, and formal acceptance was granted in January 2026. Simultaneously, Eli Lilly announced a manufacturing partnership with Pharmaron for Orforglipron, committing an initial investment of $200 million to support Pharmaron’s technical capability building—with potential for further scaling based on future progress. This represents a major windfall for Pharmaron. With Eli Lilly’s endorsement and backing, Pharmaron has effectively boarded the high-speed train of rapidly rising peptide therapeutics. Pharmaron originally built its reputation on small-molecule R&D services—and Orforglipron happens to be an oral small-molecule formulation. Rather than selecting WuXi AppTec—already an established, mature supplier for tirzepatide—Eli Lilly chose Pharmaron, likely recognizing its deep expertise and proven track record in small-molecule CDMO.

MNCs’ strategies have changed: ‘In China, for the world.’

GLP-1 weight-loss drugs have dramatically reshaped the competitive landscape among multinational pharmaceutical companies. As the biggest winner of this round of industry restructuring, Novo Nordisk once achieved the real-world phenomenon of a market capitalization exceeding its home country’s GDP—a testament to its extraordinary success. As a global leader in innovative pharmaceuticals, Novo Nordisk’s strategic blueprint warrants close attention and analysis. Beyond the current wave of acquiring Chinese assets, the company is forging another strategic pillar. On July 8, Xinhua News Agency published an interview with CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, revealing this strategy: “Co-Innovation in China.” The core message of the report is that CEO Jørgensen made his first official visit to China, declaring China the company’s second-largest global market and expressing strong confidence in China’s innovation ecosystem. He emphasized integrating China operations deeply into Novo Nordisk’s global strategy. The “Co-Innovation in China” initiative has yielded remarkable results: the basal insulin/GLP-1RA weekly formulation “NovoJade” was globally launched first in China, and Chinese experts served as Global Chief Investigators for the first time. To date, Novo Nordisk has cumulatively invested over RMB 17 billion in China, recently adding RMB 200 million to its Tianjin facility. Jørgensen stressed that China is becoming a source of innovative medicines—and that Novo Nordisk intends to incorporate Chinese experience into its global strategy. The RMB 200 million investment in Tianjin’s strategic manufacturing base aims specifically to enhance injection-pen assembly capacity. This Tianjin facility is one of Novo Nordisk’s key operational hubs in China. According to a report by Tianjin Daily, since 2003, Novo Nordisk’s Tianjin plant has received nearly RMB 12 billion in investment. Initially, the Tianjin plant focused on localizing production of innovative products to better serve the Chinese market. But under the “Co-Innovation in China” initiative—starting with “NovoJade”—innovative products developed and manufactured in China will increasingly supply global markets. 01 Continuous Upscaling of High-Tech and Blockbuster Innovation Capacity Novo Nordisk is not alone in boosting its China-based capacity. Another weight-loss drug giant—Lilly, dubbed the “acquisition king”—is also unveiling an ambitious manufacturing roadmap beyond product licensing. In 2024, Lilly first increased its investment in its Suzhou facility by RMB 1.5 billion, specifically to upgrade local fill-and-finish capacity for blockbuster GLP-1 drugs like tirzepatide. In 2026, Lilly unveiled another landmark plan: investing $3 billion in China over the next decade to comprehensively expand its domestic supply chain, partnering with local CDMOs to advance domestic commercial-scale manufacturing of its oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist Orforglipron—thereby entering the core global oral weight-loss drug supply chain. On the final day of June 2026, China’s NMPA formally approved domestic manufacturing of tirzepatide injection at Lilly’s Suzhou facility, adopting an “imported active pharmaceutical ingredient + local aseptic fill-finish” model—shortening cross-border logistics timelines and significantly mitigating global supply-chain volatility. Sanofi is no laggard either, making what remains the largest single investment by any multinational pharma in China to date. In October 2025, Sanofi announced a €1-billion investment in Beijing’s Economic-Technological Development Area to construct a state-of-the-art insulin API manufacturing facility, with groundbreaking scheduled for early 2026. Sanofi currently operates three major production bases in China—in Beijing, Shenzhen (vaccines), and Hangzhou.

China approves Eli Lilly’s weight-loss pill orforglipron

13 hours ago

China approved Eli Lilly's oral weight-loss drug orforglipron, granting the manufacturer a competitive edge over rivals like Novo Nordisk in the world's second-largest pharmaceutical market amid rising obesity rates.

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