NEW DELHI: Eli Lilly, the US pharmaceutical giant that gained widespread attention globally with its weight-loss treatments, plans to launch its blockbuster drug – Tirzepatide – in India in 2025.
“India presents a promising market, with a large and growing population, rising disease burden from obesity, diabetes, and cancer, and an increasing health expenditure … A combination of all of this makes us very optimistic about the India opportunity. We are committed to bringing our next line of innovations to the country, starting with our obesity pipeline and Tirzepatide in 2025,” Vineet Gupta, associate VP – MD, Eli Lilly (India) told TOI in an exclusive interview.
In India, the drug will be introduced under the brand name Mounjaro, targeting both type 2 diabetes and obesity. The company received marketing authorisation for the drug earlier in July, and is working to get the additional approvals, ahead of its 2025 launch.
Sales of Mounjaro globally for Q3 2024, stood at over $3.1 billion. Meanwhile, its Danish rival, Novo Nordisk with the ground-breaking Wegovy, has reportedly said it plans to get the drug in 2026 to India.
Soaring global demand for weight-loss drugs has propelled drug biggies Lilly and Novo Nordisk among the world’s most valuable companies as they aggressively compete in the obesity market that analysts predict could cross $100 billion in the next decade. The surge in demand has led firms to scramble to scale up production capacity globally.
In the US, the price of Mounjaro is around $1,000 per fill, but the amount a patient pays depends on factors like insurance. A huge demand for weight loss among affluent Indians, particularly celebs, has led to them being imported through unofficial channels, sidestepping regulatory checks. These are available at a fraction of the US price, majorly in the grey market.
Gupta said that the company has not decided on the pricing of Tirzepatide for India, but it “will be priced competitively and appropriately which will reflect the efficacy of this medicine and also the value that it will bring in reducing the overall health and economic burden of type 2 diabetes and obesity”.
Through the launch of Mounjaro, the company will widen its key diabetes portfolio in the country. In diabetes, it has distribution partnerships with two domestic pharma companies: for Huminsulin range of products with Lupin, and for Humalog and Trulicity with Cipla.
“Our strategy in India has been a mix since we set up shop in 1993. We have some strategic partnerships which are specifically for our diabetes portfolio, and our non diabetes portfolio in India, we continue to promote through our own team. We are expanding our commercial operations in the country, in preparation of bringing these innovations,” he stated.
Eli Lilly also has a contract manufacturing collaboration with Gland Pharma to manufacture human insulin vials in the country.