One To Watch

Gan & Lee Pharmaceutical

Company Overview

A Shanghai-listed Chinese pharmaceutical company that built its commercial base on insulin analogs and is now pursuing a biweekly GLP-1 receptor agonist, Bofanglutide, through global Phase III development as the GLP-1 market reshapes diabetes and obesity treatment worldwide. Gan & Lee (603087.SS) has six approved insulin products on the Chinese market — five analogs plus human insulin 30R — giving it a revenue foundation that most domestic GLP-1 challengers lack. The company's pivot from an insulin manufacturer to an innovator with a self-developed GLP-1 asset is the strategic bet that warrants attention.

Headquarters and Global Presence

Gan & Lee is headquartered in Beijing, China, and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The company's commercial insulin franchise operates domestically, while Bofanglutide is being licensed territory-by-territory across South Korea, Latin America, and India to extend its global footprint without carrying full development costs in each market.

Founding and History

Gan & Lee was founded in 1998 by Gan Zhongru, originally as a specialist insulin manufacturer. Over more than two decades it built one of the broadest domestic insulin analog portfolios in China, including the glargine brand Basalin. The company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange under the ticker 603087.SS and has since expanded its R&D ambitions toward novel metabolic-disease therapeutics.

Therapy Areas and Focus

Diabetes management and weight loss define the pipeline, reflecting China's acute metabolic-disease burden — the country hosts the world's largest diabetic population, estimated at over 140 million adults. Insulin analogs address glycemic control across type 1 and type 2 diabetes, while Bofanglutide targets the fast-growing type 2 diabetes and obesity market where weekly GLP-1 agents from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have set a high commercial bar. A less-frequent dosing profile — biweekly rather than weekly — is Gan & Lee's proposed point of differentiation.

Technology Platforms and Modalities

Gan & Lee's commercial portfolio spans recombinant human insulin and analog formulations: long-acting glargine (Basalin), rapid-acting lispro (Prandilin), rapid-acting aspart (Rapilin), and premixed variants. Bofanglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist engineered for biweekly subcutaneous injection, aiming to reduce injection burden relative to once-weekly competitors. The company is also developing what it describes as the first Chinese once-monthly GLP-1 RA, suggesting a broader platform for extended-release peptide formulation rather than a single-asset bet.

Key Pipeline and Programs

Bofanglutide (GZR18) is the lead innovative asset — a biweekly GLP-1 receptor agonist in Phase III for type 2 diabetes and obesity. The GRADUAL-1 Phase III study, now enrolling in China, focuses on overweight and obese patients; global Phase III development is also underway. The GRADUAL-3 study has been initiated for the once-monthly GLP-1 RA program, positioning Gan & Lee in a dosing-frequency arms race where patient convenience is increasingly a commercial differentiator. On the commercial side, insulin glargine (Basalin) received regulatory approval in Malaysia, marking progress in Southeast Asian market expansion. The once-monthly candidate, if confirmed at Phase III, would be the first such agent developed by a Chinese company, a meaningful first-mover claim in markets where Novo Nordisk's once-monthly icodec analog is only beginning to establish a presence.

Recent Developments

In April 2026, Gan & Lee signed an exclusive licensing deal with South Korea's JW Pharmaceutical for Bofanglutide, earning a USD 5 million upfront payment and up to USD 76.1 million in milestones — USD 81.1 million in total deal value, excluding royalties. This is the third Bofanglutide out-licensing transaction, following earlier agreements covering Latin America and India. The company also dosed the first participant in the GRADUAL-1 Phase III obesity study and initiated the GRADUAL-3 trial for its once-monthly GLP-1 program, both representing material clinical progress in a single reporting period. Dr. Ting Jia was appointed Corporate Vice President and Chief Medical Officer to lead clinical development strategy in the US and EU.

Key Personnel

Du Kai serves as President and CEO of Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals, overseeing strategy and commercial operations across the insulin and innovative therapeutics portfolios. Dr. Ting Jia was appointed Corporate Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, with a specific mandate to drive Bofanglutide's regulatory and clinical development in the US and EU — a hire that signals serious intent for Western market access. Gan Zhongru, the company's founder, established the enterprise in 1998 and remains associated with its founding identity in the insulin space.

Strategic Partnerships

The Bofanglutide licensing strategy is explicitly territorial: South Korea (JW Pharmaceutical, up to USD 81.1 million total including milestones), India (partner not specified in public filings), and Latin America together represent a deliberate asset-light globalization model. Lupin Limited is named as a partner in the global rollout, likely covering the Indian subcontinent. Each deal transfers clinical development and commercialization responsibility to the regional partner while Gan & Lee retains royalties and upstream manufacturing economics.

FAQ Section

The insulin analog market in China, while large, faces biosimilar pricing pressure and shrinking margins as domestic competitors multiply. GLP-1 receptor agonists command significantly higher pricing and are growing at double-digit rates globally. Gan & Lee's insulin manufacturing base gives it peptide production expertise that transfers to GLP-1 development, and its existing diabetes commercial infrastructure in China provides a natural launch platform for Bofanglutide once approved.

GLP-1 receptor agonists work by mimicking the incretin hormone GLP-1 to stimulate insulin secretion, suppress glucagon, and reduce appetite — effects that reduce HbA1c and body weight. Once-weekly agents like semaglutide have already displaced daily injectables in many markets on the basis of convenience alone. A biweekly formulation extends that logic further, roughly halving injection frequency versus weekly competitors, which matters for adherence in chronic conditions where therapy fatigue is a documented problem.

Novo Nordisk's semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) and Eli Lilly's tirzepatide (Mounjaro/Zepbound) are both once-weekly injectables that have set the current efficacy benchmark. Bofanglutide's biweekly schedule would offer a lower injection burden, which is the clearest point of commercial differentiation. Whether reduced injection frequency translates into superior patient outcomes or market share depends on Phase III efficacy data not yet available, making the GRADUAL readouts the pivotal watchpoint for investment thesis validation.

Bofanglutide has entered global Phase III development, with the GRADUAL-1 study in Chinese overweight and obese patients having dosed its first participant. Phase III obesity trials typically require 12-18 months of treatment plus follow-up, placing top-line readouts from GRADUAL-1 in the 2026-2027 timeframe at the earliest. The global Phase III program runs in parallel, and three territory-specific licensing deals have been signed ahead of any Phase III data — indicating partners are pricing in positive outcomes based on earlier-stage signals.

The pipeline is tightly focused on metabolic disease: type 2 diabetes, obesity, and weight management. The six approved insulin products — including Basalin (glargine) and Prandilin (lispro) — anchor the commercial business, while Bofanglutide and the once-monthly GLP-1 candidate define the innovative pipeline. There is no disclosed oncology, immunology, or rare-disease program, making Gan & Lee one of the more focused among China's mid-cap pharmaceutical companies.

Gan & Lee is a commercially mature insulin company funding an innovative-phase GLP-1 program — a different risk profile from a pure-play biotech. The insulin franchise provides revenue to fund development without immediate dilutive financing pressure. The Bofanglutide program sits at Phase III, the most capital-intensive and clinically uncertain stage, but the licensing-deal structure shifts a meaningful portion of that cost and risk to regional partners. The once-monthly candidate is earlier stage and represents a longer-horizon opportunity.

Investors and analysts tracking Gan & Lee should monitor several converging factors:

Want to Update your Company's Profile?