| Approval
China's medicines regulator, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), approved orforglipron, Eli Lilly's once-daily GLP-1 pill, for weight management on November 12, 2026. Lilly's Chinese unit announced the approval, according to Pharmaphorum, and AFP reported that the NMPA confirmed it on the same Thursday.
As reported, it is approved for long-term weight management in adults with obesity, or with overweight and at least one weight-related condition, alongside diet and physical activity. Chinese trade press describes it as a Class 1 new drug and says it is taken once a day with no food or water restrictions. Lilly's Chinese unit says it is the first oral GLP-1 medicine approved in China for weight management. Foundayo is the name used in the United States and the United Kingdom. AFP reports the China brand name as Muyouda.
Two things are still open. Lilly's application for type 2 diabetes in China is still under NMPA review, so this approval covers weight management only. And no price or launch date has been announced. In June, a Lilly executive told Reuters that China launch timing could be "anything from late 2026 to early 2027."
Worth knowing: This page relies on news reports and on Lilly's Chinese unit. The Atlas has not read the NMPA's own notice or the Chinese package insert, so the exact weight cutoffs, dose strengths and any China-specific label wording are unconfirmed. One trade outlet reports BMI of 30 or higher, or 27 to 30 with a weight-related condition, and says the final scope awaits the package insert. An approval in one country does not apply in another. The US and UK approvals are separate.
Related: Orforglipron medicine page | Foundayo brand page | Lilly tracker | UK approval of Foundayo | FDA approval of Foundayo
Sources: Pharmaphorum, Lilly beats Novo to China with an oral GLP-1 for obesity, November 2026 Trade press. Medical Xpress (AFP), China approves first oral GLP-1 weight-loss pill, November 13, 2026 Trade press, not a regulator page. Reuters via The Standard, China approval for Eli Lilly GLP-1 pill to come as soon as 2026, executive says, June 2026 Trade press. Chinese trade press (thepaper.cn, 21jingji.com, nbd.com.cn) for the once-daily and scope details Trade press, not a regulator page.