US drugmaker Eli Lilly's weight-loss drug Mounjaro (tirzepatide) has crossed Rs 100 crore in sales in India in just four months of launch, making it one of the country’s fastest-growing prescription brands ever by value.
The drug clocked Rs 47-crore sales in July, double its June figure, according to data from prescriptions tracker PharmaTrac.
If this month-on-month doubling of sales continues, Mounjaro’s revenue could cross Rs 500 crore by March, experts estimate.
After that, there could be a price erosion in the segment, as generic versions of rival GLP1 molecule semaglutide, branded as Wegovy by Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, are expected to flood the market.
Drugs that have seen similar burgeoning growth in the past include some in the anti-diabetic category, such as Januvia (sitagliptin), Trajenta (linagliptin), Jardiance (empagliflozin), Forxiga (dapagliflozin), and Rybelsus (oral semaglutide).
Wegovy, launched in early June, also saw a doubling of sales numbers with cumulative sales of the first two months at Rs 10 crore.
“Though Wegovy has a strong prescriber base because of Rybelsus (oral semaglutide), substantial promotion may be needed to reach the Mounjaro patient base for the injectable market,” said Sheetal Sapale, vice president, commercial, at PharmaTrac.
Mounjaro, which was launched in late March, has so far garnered a significant patient base, selling about 160,000 units versus Wegovy’s 5,000.
“As competition gets tough and branded generics come into the market, volume sales will be a major decider of who goes ahead in the race as this extent of value creation will be challenging,” Sapale said.
Industry experts and doctors said the higher weight loss efficacy of 20-22% from Mounjaro compared to Wegovy’s 16-18% and a lower price point make it more attractive to many patients.
Wegovy is currently priced between Rs 17,345 to Rs 26,050 per pen-filled injection, which is a month’s dose of four once-a-week shots. Mounjaro, which is also given on a weekly basis, is priced at Rs 14,000 to Rs 17,500 for a month’s dose.
Vyankatesh Shivane, diabetology and endocrinology consultant at Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre in Mumbai, said Mounjaro has captured a major share of the market so far due to their early launch and higher weight loss efficacy.
“Diabetes patients prefer Wegovy, while non-diabetes obese patients prefer Mounjaro,” he said.
Apart from chronic weight management in obesity, Mounjaro is also indicated to improve glycaemic control in adults with type-2 diabetes mellitus, which is an additional benefit. Wegovy is used for obesity treatment and selectively in reduction in risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).
The drug clocked Rs 47-crore sales in July, double its June figure, according to data from prescriptions tracker PharmaTrac.
If this month-on-month doubling of sales continues, Mounjaro’s revenue could cross Rs 500 crore by March, experts estimate.
After that, there could be a price erosion in the segment, as generic versions of rival GLP1 molecule semaglutide, branded as Wegovy by Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, are expected to flood the market.
Drugs that have seen similar burgeoning growth in the past include some in the anti-diabetic category, such as Januvia (sitagliptin), Trajenta (linagliptin), Jardiance (empagliflozin), Forxiga (dapagliflozin), and Rybelsus (oral semaglutide).
Wegovy, launched in early June, also saw a doubling of sales numbers with cumulative sales of the first two months at Rs 10 crore.
“Though Wegovy has a strong prescriber base because of Rybelsus (oral semaglutide), substantial promotion may be needed to reach the Mounjaro patient base for the injectable market,” said Sheetal Sapale, vice president, commercial, at PharmaTrac.
Mounjaro, which was launched in late March, has so far garnered a significant patient base, selling about 160,000 units versus Wegovy’s 5,000.
“As competition gets tough and branded generics come into the market, volume sales will be a major decider of who goes ahead in the race as this extent of value creation will be challenging,” Sapale said.
Industry experts and doctors said the higher weight loss efficacy of 20-22% from Mounjaro compared to Wegovy’s 16-18% and a lower price point make it more attractive to many patients.
Wegovy is currently priced between Rs 17,345 to Rs 26,050 per pen-filled injection, which is a month’s dose of four once-a-week shots. Mounjaro, which is also given on a weekly basis, is priced at Rs 14,000 to Rs 17,500 for a month’s dose.
Vyankatesh Shivane, diabetology and endocrinology consultant at Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre in Mumbai, said Mounjaro has captured a major share of the market so far due to their early launch and higher weight loss efficacy.
“Diabetes patients prefer Wegovy, while non-diabetes obese patients prefer Mounjaro,” he said.
Apart from chronic weight management in obesity, Mounjaro is also indicated to improve glycaemic control in adults with type-2 diabetes mellitus, which is an additional benefit. Wegovy is used for obesity treatment and selectively in reduction in risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).
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