Weight Management Drugs Double Sales in India, Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly See Surge

In July, the sales of Wegovy, a product of Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, and Mounjaro, a product of American competitor Eli Lilly, both doubled in India compared to the previous month. This surge in demand for these two weight management drugs, which also help control blood sugar and delay digestion, highlights their growing popularity in the world's most populous country.

Wegovy, which was launched in India in June, saw its sales volume more than double to 5,000 units, with revenue reaching 70 million rupees (approximately $798,230). Similarly, Mounjaro's sales volume also doubled to 157,000 units, generating revenue of 470 million rupees. This significant increase in sales reflects the growing acceptance and demand for these medications in the Indian market.

Pharmarack, a research company, noted that while Wegovy has a strong base of prescribing doctors due to its foundation in Rybelsus, it may require extensive marketing efforts to reach the same patient base as Mounjaro in the injectable market. Novo Nordisk has been selling Rybelsus, an oral semaglutide tablet for type 2 diabetes, in India since 2022. Mounjaro, which was launched in India in March, has seen its sales surge by 15 times since its introduction.

Novo Nordisk's second-quarter financial report, released this week, showed a 13% year-over-year increase in sales to 76.857 billion Danish kroner and a 32% increase in net profit to 26.503 billion Danish kroner. The company is advancing its research and development efforts, with plans to progress subcutaneous and oral Amycretin into the weight management field based on clinical studies expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025. Additionally, Novo Nordisk has initiated the REDEFINE11 study to further explore the potential efficacy and safety of CagriSema in the obesity field and has submitted an application to the European regulatory authorities for semaglutide 7.2mg, a higher dose of Wegovy.

Eli Lilly, on the other hand, reported second-quarter revenue of $15.6 billion, a 38% year-over-year increase. However, the company's stock performance was impacted by the underwhelming results of its oral weight loss drug, orforglipron, which helped patients achieve an average weight loss of 11%, falling short of investor expectations that it would match the efficacy of Novo Nordisk's popular injectable weight loss drug, Wegovy.