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US pharma major Eli Lilly has rolled out its once-a-week diabetes treatment Trulicity (dulaglutide) in India.
The injectable medication improves blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes and has a proven efficacy with approvals in the US and Europe, besides clinical trials on 5,000 people including Indians, Edgard Olaizola, Lilly India’s Managing Director told BusinessLine .
Priced at ₹2,499 for a week, Trulicity comes in a single-dose pen that does not require mixing or measuring and can be administered at any time of the day, independent of meals, company officials said.
A person with type 2 diabetes is brought onto this product when the initial lot of drugs fail to work and the decision needs to be taken on whether to go in for insulin or the next class of drugs, explains diabetologist V Mohan.
In terms of price, it is comparable to other similar drugs that are taken everyday, he said. Trulicity’s benefits are that it controls blood sugar, has a reduced risk of blood sugar levels dropping and reduces weight, in addition to the convenience of being once-a-week, he added.
Trulicity is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, a hormone that helps normalise blood sugar levels.
On reports of pancreatitis linked to the drug, Mohan said that concerns were reported on the class of drugs, but the last word is still to be heard on it. Tarun Puri, Lilly India’s Medical Director said that the product had been compared to various oral and injectable products and it showed superior efficacy.
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