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Eli Lilly rolls out diabetes, weight loss drug Mounjaro in India
The drugmaker rolled out tirzepatide, sold under the brand Mounjaro, in single-dose vials after getting approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization
US drug firm Eli Lilly and Co. has launched its blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drug Mounjaro in India, giving the pharma company the first-mover advantage in a country that has the world’s third largest number of obese people.
The drugmaker rolled out tirzepatide, sold under the brand Mounjaro, in single-dose vials after getting approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization, it said in a statement on Thursday.
A 2.5 mg vial costs Rs3,500 (about $40) and the 5 mg vial Rs4,375, Bloomberg reported, citing a company spokesperson.
For comparison, the 2.5 mg vial costs about $568 in the US, about fourteen-fold more.
The India-specific pricing “reflects Lilly’s commitment to expanding access to innovative treatments in the country,” the Bloomberg report said.
The US firm’s top rival Novo Nordisk has yet to announce a timeline for launching its obesity drug Wegovy in India.
“The dual burden of obesity and type 2 diabetes is rapidly emerging as a major public health challenge in India,” Winselow Tucker, Lilly India’s president, said in a statement.
Earlier, Rybelsus, a diabetes drug in pill form, was used to treat weight-loss patients in the country.
Launched in 2022, Rybelsus contained the same ingredient, semaglutide, as Wegovy and Ozempic but was considered less effective than the injectable variant.
A range of generic weight loss drugs are scheduled to roll out in India once the patents of semaglutide, used in Novo’s weight loss medicine, expire next year.
Firms like Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd are developing their own domestic weight loss formulations.
Cipla Ltd and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd are working on generic versions.
Biocon Ltd and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd are relying on generics of an earlier generation–a liraglutide injectable sold by Novo Nordisk as Saxenda.
In January, the US-based firm announced plans to open a global capability center in Hyderabad.
The center will be Lilly’s second such unit in India, with the first being launched in Bengaluru in 2016.
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