Pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk on Tuesday dropped the price of its popular weight loss drug by 37% — from a weekly price of Rs 4,336 to Rs 2,712 for its lowest 0.25 mg dose. The highest 2.4 mg dose of Wegovy will now be priced at Rs 4,100 a week, making the drug significantly cheaper than its competitor Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro.
The price drop comes at a time when Eli Lilly has been steadily capturing the weight loss market in India, entering the market months before Novo Nordisk. Mounjaro is priced at Rs 3,500 per 2.5 mg single-dose vial and Rs 4,375 per 5 mg single-dose vial, adding up to anywhere between Rs 14,000 to Rs 17,500 a month. When it comes to its easy use KwikPen, the highest 15 mg dose is available at the cost of Rs 27,500 per month.
The monthly sales of Mounjaro is almost ten fold that of Wegovy in India in October. It also became the top-selling drug by value, with sales of around Rs 100 crore in October, according to the market research firm Pharmarack. The data also shows that the sales of the oral version of Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide — sold as Rybelsus — also seems to be impacted with the new entrants in the market.
“Ever since the launch of this innovative chronic weight management medication this year, we have dedicatedly worked towards making it accessible to the maximum number of people living with overweight or obesity in India. We have made sure to listen to our patient and doctor communities and take active measures for the benefit of people at large,” said Vikrant Shrotriya, Managing Director of Novo Nordisk India, in a statement.
Indians finally were able to access the weight loss drugs that have taken the world by storm earlier this year with the launch of Mounjaro in March and Wegovy in June.
Studies have shown that people on Wegovy lost nearly 15% of their body weight on average, with one in three losing up to 20% of their body weight. This is comparable to weight-loss achieved with bariatric surgery. A head-on trial of semaglutide and tirzepatide showed that, on average, more people on tirzepatide were likely to lose weight.
