Adds more context

BEIJING, June 16 (Reuters) - Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO plans to seek Chinese regulatory approval for its Wegovy weight-loss pill "very soon," its CEO said on Tuesday, as it moves to catch up with rival Eli Lilly LLY.N in the world's second-largest pharmaceutical market.

Denmark's Novo and U.S.-based Lilly believe weight-loss pills could attract patients reluctant to use injections and are racing to expand use of drugs that have transformed obesity treatment and reshaped the global pharmaceutical industry.

"We will be submitting oral Wegovy... for regulatory approval very soon... I would say a few months," Mike Doustdar, on his first visit to China since becoming Novo's CEO in August, told reporters.

Competition in China has intensified in recent years, with Pfizer PFE.N and local firms including Innovent Biologics 1801.HK entering the market.

Doustdar expected competition from generic drugmakers from the second quarter of next year.

The patent for semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo's blockbusters Wegovy and Ozempic, expired in China in March, though the company has regulatory data protection until early next year.

Novo has received early approval in the U.S. and Britain for its Wegovy pill and launched it in the U.S. this year. Lilly followed quickly, securing U.S. approval in April for its oral drug orforglipron.

In China, Lilly has moved first. The company said in March it submitted a marketing application for once-daily orforglipron to the Chinese regulator at the end of 2025.

The rival drugs belong to a class known as GLP-1 medicines.

The market share of weight-loss drugs in China is opaque, with firms including Innovent and Lilly not disclosing sales figures.

Sales of GLP-1 treatments in China through major e-commerce platforms Alibaba 9988.HK and JD.com 9618.HK totalled about 1.4 billion yuan ($207 million) in the first quarter, according to Jefferies.