Indian weight-loss market becomes ‘bloodbath’ as drugmakers pile in

{"text":[[{"start":12.8,"text":"Ever since weight-loss drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic were introduced to India last year, Reema Arora, a doctor who runs an aesthetics clinic in New Delhi, has seen a 30 per cent jump in patients seeking treatments to slim down."}],[{"start":27.25,"text":"After last month’s expiry of Indian exclusivity on the patent for semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, she expects even greater demand as the world’s largest producer of generic medicines also becomes a big consumer of weight-loss drugs."}],[{"start":44.7,"text":"“It’s going to be a paradigm shift,” said Arora, founder of The Face Clinic. “Generics are definitely going to help us with penetration into areas which, because of the cost or the availability, people didn’t have access. It’s going to be hugely impacting.”"}],[{"start":59.5,"text":"India’s massive pharmaceutical industry, a world-leading exporter of cheap off-patent medicine, has jumped on the opportunity to produce low-cost weight-loss treatments, sparking a race that one executive called a “bloodbath”."}],[{"start":73.6,"text":"At home, the companies will be tapping into heightened demand as the incomes of India’s urban — and often sedentary — middle class grow steadily in tandem with their waistlines."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

• A worker in full protective gear operates machinery in a vial decartoning and loading facility at Biocon.
• Rows of glass vials with yellow caps move along a conveyor belt at a pharmaceutical facility.

"}],[{"start":84.25,"text":"Analysts at Jefferies said the semaglutide patent expiry in India had seen the launch of “brands galore” by about 10 drugmakers so far as they chase a “magic pill moment” and a local market worth potentially $500mn-$1bn."}],[{"start":100.1,"text":"Analysts at Nomura estimated Indian drugmakers could charge Rs3,500-Rs8,000 ($37-$85) a month for disposable pen injections, far lower than the Rs11,000-Rs16,000 for western branded versions."}],[{"start":118.25,"text":"India has one of the world’s highest diabetes burdens, which can be treated with semaglutide drugs. More than 100mn people in the country suffer from the disease, while a similar amount are at high risk, according to a 2023 study by the Indian Council of Medical Research. Nearly a third of adults are obese."}],[{"start":135.55,"text":"Shashank Joshi, an endocrinologist and diabetologist, said his practice in Mumbai had seen a surge in enquiries for cheap weight-loss treatments, though he had yet to decide whether to start prescribing them."}],[{"start":147,"text":"“The key will be filtering it right, preventing misuse and commoditisation of the drugs,” he said."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":153.15,"text":"India’s largest pharma groups are also looking to capture a share of the global market. At a factory in the technology hub of Bengaluru, hazmat-suited technicians were busy preparing hundreds of test vials to go through a sterilised production line as Indian group Biocon expands its weight-loss and diabetes treatment manufacturing capabilities."}],[{"start":174.15,"text":"Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Biocon’s billionaire founder, believes the drugs could follow the trajectory of statins, which became a widely prescribed cholesterol treatment."}],[{"start":184.15,"text":"“This is going to be like another statin opportunity where it becomes a part of everyone’s sort of prescribed therapy, almost like a prophylactic medicine,” she said. “It’s a huge market.”"}],[{"start":195.70000000000002,"text":"Despite the domestic opportunity, Biocon is focusing its semaglutide push on international markets such as Brazil, Canada and Turkey, where patents also expire this year."}],[{"start":207.20000000000002,"text":"Biocon has entered an agreement with Mumbai-based Ajanta Pharma to supply semaglutide for marketing in 23 countries and semi-exclusive distribution in three others spanning Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia."}],[{"start":221.35000000000002,"text":"The reason for the international focus, said Mazumdar-Shaw, is the intense rivalry at home. “Today the whole market is very volatile and dynamic and uncertain,” she said. “India is a bloodbath right now because everyone is trying to come up with a very low-priced semaglutide.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":238.00000000000003,"text":"That price war poses a challenge for western companies that pioneered the drugs. Novo Nordisk has already forecast that pricing pressures and competition in its largest market, the US, could dent sales and profits by up to 13 per cent this year."}],[{"start":252.95000000000002,"text":"India adds another front to the battle. Branded versions of semaglutide only went on sale in the country last year, so their exclusivity was shortlived."}],[{"start":263.45000000000005,"text":"Companies have responded with aggressive marketing campaigns. Eli Lilly, the maker of Mounjaro, whose active ingredient is the still patent-protected tirzepatide, ran a large digital billboard above a liquor store at a busy junction in Bengaluru in February with the line: “My Weight Isn’t My Fault — Obesity is a Disease. Consult a Doctor Today.”"}],[{"start":284.85,"text":"Novo is betting its brand recognition will gain trust among patients. Emil Larsen, head of international operations, said the company had a “strong belief in Ozempic being an iconic household name”."}],[{"start":297.25,"text":"“A lot of these products will be new to the market. They will be produced with synthetic [active ingredients], a lot of it coming from China,” he said. “So there’s a big trust element there that will be helpful along with making the product even more affordable.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":"

• A doctor holds the Mounjaro GLP-1 self-injectable device.
• Five Wegovy injection pens displayed in a clear case, with a blurred promotional image of smiling people in the background.

"}],[{"start":311.25,"text":"Larsen added that the company was taking lessons from the compounding market — pharmacies that make copycat drugs using the active ingredient in branded medicines — where impurities have been found in Canada, and its experience selling human insulin, an area it dominates despite losing its patent decades ago."}],[{"start":328.85,"text":"“We will watch this space to see if it’s turning into a wild market where quality standards are not the right ones,” he said, emphasising that quality would be Novo’s selling point. “We have an ambition to remain a leading volume player in the generic market.”"}],[{"start":345.25,"text":"Arora at The Face Clinic said she would be waiting for real-world clinical data that comes typically six months after a drug’s launch before deciding whether to start recommending cheaper treatments to her patients."}],[{"start":356.45,"text":"For Narayani, a 46-year-old corporate executive in Mumbai who has shed 20kg over the past year since she started taking weight-loss drugs, her doctor’s advice will be paramount."}],[{"start":367.8,"text":"She has been paying about Rs12,000 a month for western branded treatments and will not be deterred if her physician recommends staying with the more expensive injections."}],[{"start":378.55,"text":"“I am OK paying that price if needed,” she said, “because it is better than paying [hundreds of thousands of rupees] for a heart attack or a stroke later.”"}],[{"start":394.25,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1776570297_7090.mp3"}