Eli Lilly's Weight-Loss Drug Launch in Hong Kong

(Reuters) – Eli Lilly expects to start selling its weight-loss drug in Hong Kong as early as the end of this year, according to a report by Bloomberg News on Sunday.

The drugmaker has received approval from the Hong Kong government to sell its tirzepatide injections — branded as Mounjaro — in a device called Kwikpen for both long-term weight management and type 2 diabetes, Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) told Bloomberg in a statement.

Tirzepatide is the active ingredient in the U.S. firm's diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight-loss drug Zepbound.

Eli Lilly did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The company received approval from Chinese regulators for its weight-loss drug tirzepatide in July, further intensifying competition with Danish rival Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) in the key Asian market.

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are racing to increase production in a weight-loss market estimated to reach at least $100 billion globally by the end of the decade.

Both companies' obesity treatments belong to a class of drugs originally developed for diabetes known as GLP-1 agonists.