NEW DELHI: A wave of affordable generic versions of Ozempic and Wegovy (semaglutide) has rapidly captured around 20% of the nearly Rs 1,600 crore weight-loss market within days of launch, following the drug’s patent expiry on March 20. A handful of early movers, including Torrent, Sun Pharma and Zydus Lifesciences, are already chipping away at the stronghold of innovator firm Eli Lilly, which markets the rival weight-loss shot, Mounjaro (tirzepatide). Both semaglutide and tirzepatide belong to the GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonists class, used for the management of type 2 diabetes and obesity. Mounjaro, launched a year ago, has dominated the weight-loss and diabetes market since Oct last year, emerging as the largest-selling drug in the organised pharma retail market.
It retained that position in March as well, clocking Rs 114 crore in sales. Launch of generics resulted in a Rs 21 crore dip in Mounjaro’s March sales month-on-month, while simultaneously expanding the semaglutide market by Rs 10 crore, according to latest data from research firm Pharmarack. Lower pricing by generics and the MNC firm Novo Nordisk, which markets Ozempic and Wegovy, as against tirzepatide, is bolstering semaglutide’s position, according to Sheetal Sapale, vice-president (commercial) at the firm.
While Eli Lilly has seen its market share falling to 56% in March from around 70% in Oct last year, Novo Nordisk has proven more resilient against generic competition, retaining 25% share in GLP-1 segment, according to the data. In total, there were 26 brands launched by 13 companies in March. Further, generic companies including Torrent, Lupin, Zydus and Dr Reddy’s that were early entrants in semaglutide market have grabbed considerable share.
Torrent is leading with a share of 8%, followed by Dr Reddy’s, Zydus, Lupin and Sun Pharma. Higher share of Torrent could be attributed to the fact that it is offering both oral and injectable formulations.
