Hybio Pharmaceutical has expanded its partnership with Chinese compatriot 3SBio by granting its subsidiary Sunshine Mandi exclusive rights to HY310/WS2403, a semaglutide injection, for the glycaemic-control (type 2 diabetes) indication across Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.

The agreement carries an RMB 12 million upfront, RMB 18 million regulatory milestone upon approval, RMB 7.5 million commercial supply milestone, up to RMB 145 million in sales milestones, and tiered low-double-digit percentage royalties above an annual net sales threshold of RMB 500 million. Combined with the prior 2024 weight-management collaboration (up to RMB 270 million milestones plus double-digit royalties), total deal value across both indications reaches approximately RMB 452.5 million (USD 67.1 million).

HY310/WS2403 completed Phase III trials in both diabetes and obesity in 2026, demonstrating bioequivalence to originator semaglutide: HbA1c reduction difference of minus 0.09% to plus 0.18% versus reference at week 32 (within the CDE minus 0.4% to plus 0.4% window) and body-weight reduction difference of minus 1.15% to plus 1.74% at week 44 (within the CDE minus 4.16% to plus 4.16% window).

With 13 domestic semaglutide biosimilar filings already submitted to China's NMPA and none approved, the asset positions 3SBio to capture near-term share in a market where originator Wegovy and Ozempic face patent expiry and volume-based procurement pressure, whilst Hybio monetises manufacturing scale without building its own GLP-1 commercialisation force.

Perhaps the biggest threat to semaglutide in China are not biosimilars but locally developed GLP-1/1R candidates as the field gains momentum in the country, as shown by PharmCube's NextBiopharm® database. Click here to request a free trial for NextBiopharm®.