Eli Lilly & Co. increased sales of weight-loss and diabetes drug Mounjaro 60 per cent in India in May from April in its second full month of being on offer in the South Asian country, which has the world’s third-highest number of obese people.
The US drugmaker sold 126 million rupees ($1.5 million) worth of the injections last month, according to market analysis firm Pharmarack Technologies. Sales of its 5 mg version more than doubled to about 75 million rupees, while revenue from the 2.5 mg shot was 51 million rupees.
“The patient number may have actually doubled” in May from April, Pharmarack Vice President Sheetal Sapale told Bloomberg News. The demand is gradually rising and should continue, she said. Newer patients are being introduced with the lower dose and upgraded to 5 mg injections after four weeks, according to Sapale.
The increase in sales reflects the need for anti-obesity solutions in the vast market in India, where Danish rival Novo Nordisk A/S is also expected to launch soon. The country’s generic drugmakers are awaiting the expiration of some patents from next year to unleash a flurry of copycat treatments.
On Tuesday, Biocon Ltd. received approval for Liraglutide, a generic version of Novo Nordisk’s type-2 diabetes and anti-obesity drug Victoza.
India has about 100 million people living with diabetes and obesity each, Eli Lilly said earlier this year.
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