TLDREli Lilly (LLY) stock hit a record high in premarket trading Thursday, up nearly 3%.China approved orforglipron, sold as Foundayo, as its first GLP-1 weight-loss pill.Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy is still waiting on a Chinese decision.J.P. Morgan sees China’s GLP-1 weight-management sales reaching 30 billion yuan ($4.5 billion) in five to seven years.Lilly has not said how it will price the pill or when it will launch in China.Eli Lilly (LLY) stock hit a record high in premarket trading on Thursday, up nearly 3%. The move came after China approved the company’s weight-loss pill.Eli Lilly and Company, LLYRegulators cleared orforglipron, sold as Foundayo, making it the first GLP-1 weight-loss pill approved in the country. Until now, China had only approved injections for weight management.China has approved Eli Lilly’s oral GLP-1 drug, the first weight-loss pill of its kind in the country. Competitor Novo Nordisk’s pill is still awaiting approval. pic.twitter.com/AdCK7M4sth— Trade Republic (@traderepublic) November 12, 2026That puts Lilly ahead of Novo Nordisk in the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical market. The Danish drugmaker has applied to sell its oral Wegovy there but has no clearance yet.Lilly says pills could appeal to patients who are reluctant to use injections. Foundayo is taken once a day, with no food or water restrictions.A Pill Joins a Crowded FieldFoundayo will compete with Lilly’s own once-weekly GLP-1 injection. It will also face rival injections from Novo, Pfizer and Innovent Biologics.More pills are on the way. Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals and Huadong Medicine have also applied to sell experimental GLP-1 weight-loss pills in China.Novo won approval for injectable Wegovy in China in 2024. It submitted the oral version in August and is still waiting on a decision.Pills already carry real weight in the U.S. Oral therapies make up about a third of obesity prescriptions there since Novo’s Wegovy pill launched in January, according to Novo presentations from September.The Numbers Behind the PushJ.P. Morgan’s Yang Huang forecasts that annual GLP-1 weight-management sales in China could reach 30 billion yuan ($4.5 billion) in five to seven years. That compares with an estimated 3 billion to 4 billion yuan today.China’s National Health Commission says overweight or obese people could top 65% of the population by 2030. That is up from roughly 50% in 2020.Foundayo has been selling since its April approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Lilly reported $184 million in third-quarter Foundayo revenue, bringing the total to $281 million since launch.The pill is also available in the U.K. and the United Arab Emirates. Last month, a European Medicines Agency committee recommended approval for adults with obesity, or those who are overweight with related health conditions.Lilly’s total third-quarter revenue rose 39% to $24.4 billion. Mounjaro and Zepbound drove the jump.Lilly did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how it will price orforglipron in China or when it will be available. A promotion that appeared to be for the drug showed up on a JD.com mobile app on Thursday, and JD.com did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The post Eli Lilly (LLY) Stock Climbs as China Approves First GLP-1 Weight-Loss Pill appeared first on Blockonomi.