A deluge of weight-loss medication is ready to rework the worldwide battle towards weight problems as India prepares to unleash low-cost generic variations of injections like Ozempic after a key patent expired on Friday.
The transfer will dramatically widen entry to therapies which have lengthy been thought of a luxurious, particularly in middle-income nations, the place hovering demand has collided with steep costs.
At clinics throughout Mumbai, medical doctors say they’re already getting ready for an inflow in new sufferers.
Greater than 50 folks stroll into endocrinologist Nadeem Rais’s workplace each week searching for weight-loss injections.
“We have now round 70 to 80 sufferers on lively therapy proper now,” he instructed AFP.
“When generics come out and costs drop, that would go as much as 200 simply.”
His colleague Sunera Ghai agrees saying that demand is “very excessive” however many “in all probability aren’t taking it simply because it’s actually a luxurious merchandise at this level”.
The breakthrough comes as patents on semaglutide — the lively ingredient in medication comparable to Ozempic and Wegovy — expired Friday in India, the world’s largest provider of generic medicines.
By the tip of 2026, core patents on semaglutide could have expired in 10 nations that symbolize 48% of the worldwide weight problems burden, in line with a examine revealed earlier this month by researchers.
These embrace Brazil, China, South Africa, Turkey and Canada, the examine stated.
Launching quickly
For India’s drug giants, this marks the beginning of an aggressive new race.
No less than 4 main companies have already ready generic semaglutide injections, regulatory filings and compliance paperwork seen by AFP present.
Some, together with Zydus Lifesciences, have introduced “Day 1” launches, suggesting generic variations could grow to be accessible as quickly as this weekend in India.
Analysis agency Pharmarack estimates the Indian market will quickly be flooded with choices.
“What we perceive is, there might be greater than 50 manufacturers that might be launched available in the market and there are greater than 40 gamers who might be launching these medication,” Pharmarack’s vp Sheetal Sapale stated.
The timing aligns with India’s shifting well being panorama.
Whereas the nation nonetheless accounts for a 3rd of the world’s undernutrition in line with the World Well being Organisation (WHO), rising incomes and concrete existence have pushed weight problems charges sharply upward.
Authorities knowledge launched March final 12 months reveals 24% of ladies and 23% of males are chubby or overweight in India.
“As soon as an individual begins incomes cash, he turns into extra sedentary right here,” says bariatric surgeon Sanjay Borude.
“Whereas in first-world nations, the extra the cash, they grow to be extra lively and commit time for his or her well being, that is reversed in India.”
These flipped economics have labored effectively for large pharma gamers like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk who’ve been cashing in available on the market.
India’s weight-loss drug gross sales have grown tenfold in 5 years to $153 million as of 2026, and are projected to soar to over half a billion by 2030.
However utilizing such medication may cause unwanted side effects together with nausea and gastrointestinal points.
Breaking value barrier
Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro turned the nation’s top-selling drug by worth final 12 months, surpassing even widespread antibiotics.
Nonetheless, excessive costs — typically INR15,000 to INR22,000 ($161-$236) a month — restrict entry, says Swati Pradhan, who runs a weight-loss clinic in Mumbai.
She expects affected person numbers to rise as soon as generics push therapy prices nearer to five,000 rupees ($60) a month.
The worldwide affect could show much more profound.
India provides greater than half of Africa’s generic medicines, and cheaper semaglutide may grow to be a lifeline for nations the place weight problems is rising quickly however therapy stays unaffordable.
“Decrease-cost semaglutide may considerably develop entry to efficient therapy notably in middle-income nations the place value has been a significant barrier,” Simon Barquera, president of the World Weight problems Federation, instructed AFP.
“Generic merchandise are an necessary step in breaking the entry barrier, now that the scientific one has been overcome.”
Indian companies might be a key driving power, with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories aiming to launch its model of semaglutide in Canada by Could 2026.
For sufferers like 46-year-old Sukant Mangal, who misplaced practically 30 kilos in eight months, wider entry couldn’t come quickly sufficient.
Many he is aware of merely deserted therapy mid-way once they realised they must spend INR20,000 ($214) a month for seven to eight months.
“Had it been cheaper, [it] would’ve been a lot simpler to have it.”
