Reuters feature describes how Lilly and Novo promote weight-loss drugs in China despite ad ban

Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer and China's Innovent Biologics are courting consumers there with obesity-awareness messages in subway stations, exercise studios and soccer stadiums, because Chinese rules bar advertising prescription medicines to the public. The account, by Reuters reporter Andrew Silver, ran in The Japan Times on Aug. 24 and on Kyodo News on Aug. 26 ^[1][2].

What the campaigns look like

China's National Health Commission has projected that more than 65% of the population could be overweight or obese by 2030 ^[1][2]. Four companies now sell weekly GLP-1 injections for weight loss there, and Jefferies data cited in the article put Lilly ahead of the field in second-quarter sales on Alibaba's Tmall and JD.com ^[2].

The rules shape the messaging. Drugmakers may discuss disease risks and urge people to see a doctor, but campaign materials may not name a product ^[2]. A banner carrying a Lilly logo in Shanghai's Jingan district told commuters: "Don't forget to pay attention to Dad's snoring and promptly visit a respiratory department or sleep center" ^[1][2]. Snoring is a common sign of sleep apnea, which is closely tied to excess weight, and Lilly's tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro, has been shown in trials to ease that condition ^[2].

Innovent and the e-commerce company Meituan ran wall ads in the same station last month saying "scientific weight management" can reverse fatty liver disease, and a July match in Suzhou carried a repeating stadium message: "Innovent Biologics weight loss amazing!" ^[1][2].

Across June and July, the gym chain Supermonkey used the Xiaohongshu platform to promote a "healthy weight loss party" with Pfizer. A post that was later deleted showed a Pfizer employee telling a Shanghai gathering the company wanted to help attendees build a lasting, healthy way of life, followed by a trainer-led weightlifting session ^[1][2].

Where education and selling blur

Jia Hepeng, a professor of science communication at Soochow University in Suzhou, said he seldom sees drugmakers promote prescription treatments for hypertension, tumors or other diseases in public, or even indirectly ^[1][2].

Chen Zhenggang, a partner at DeHeng Law Offices in Beijing, said the Innovent and Meituan billboards could lead consumers to link them to a specific weight-loss prescription. No product name appeared, he noted, but the ads included what looked like a mascot called "Madudu," close in sound to mazdutide, Innovent's drug sold as Xinermei ^[1][2].

"On one side, they're definitely trying to be compliant ... on the other side, you have drugs and you want to sell," J.P. Morgan analyst Yang Huang said of the awareness and education programs ^[2].

Lilly said in a statement that its educational work promotes no particular medicine and aligns with China's health strategies. Pfizer, Innovent, Meituan and China's market regulator either declined to comment or did not respond ^[1][2]. The article also notes that earlier this year Lilly paused an obesity awareness campaign in India after that country's drug regulator said the effort coincided with Mounjaro's launch there and could promote the drug to consumers ^[1][2].

At Novo, Greater China president Cai Yan, who took the role in March, said physicians told her the company communicated less effectively than its rivals, some of which described drug benefits more directly. She said Novo is widening its reach beyond hospital doctors and using plainer language ^[1][2]. Novo and state broadcaster CCTV staged a health exhibit on a Beijing street in July that included group dancing, and text there said some GLP-1 therapies have been validated in multiple large clinical studies ^[2].

Why it matters for patients

Hospital employees in Shanghai and Guangzhou said social media posts, along with advice from friends and family, prompt some patients to request specific weight-loss medicines by name ^[1][2]. Zhao Xiaolong, an endocrinologist at the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, said early requests centered on Novo's semaglutide, sold as Wegovy, and that Lilly's tirzepatide, or Mounjaro, and Innovent's mazdutide, or Xinermei, have been asked for more often lately ^[2].

For US readers, this is a report on marketing conduct in another market. It says nothing about US approvals, labels or advertising rules, and no American regulator is mentioned. Whether Chinese authorities will examine any of the campaigns has not been disclosed ^[1][2].

What happens next

Yang Huang of J.P. Morgan estimates weight-management GLP-1 sales in China could reach 30 billion yuan, about $4 billion, in five to seven years, up from an estimated 3 billion to 4 billion yuan today ^[2]. Novo introduced the first weekly GLP-1 for weight management in China in late 2024; Lilly followed in January 2025 and Innovent in July 2025, while Pfizer's Xianweiying produced its first prescriptions in April ^[2]. No regulatory action arising from the campaigns has been reported ^[1][2].