The agreement hands AstraZeneca exclusive global rights outside China for the drugs, according to a joint statement. CSPC said it stood to earn billions of dollars dependent on sales.

Expensive appetite-suppressing drugs -- which include the brands Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro -- have exploded in popularity as people seek to lose weight.

Friday's deal came after AstraZeneca said Thursday that it would invest $15 billion in China through 2030 to expand the British company's medicines manufacturing and research.

Both deals were announced during a visit to China by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

AstraZeneca said the CSPC deal "strengthens its weight management portfolio through a new strategic collaboration... to advance the development of multiple next-generation therapies for obesity and type 2 diabetes across eight programmes".

CSPC will receive an upfront payment of $1.2 billion and could earn up to $3.5 billion more from development and regulatory milestones, the two companies said.

CSPC added in a separate statement that it could receive a further $13.8 billion for sales milestones.

CSPC chairman Cai Dong Chen called it a "win-win collaboration" that would deliver the next generation of weight-loss treatments with the help of artificial intelligence.

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