100 mn Indians could be on GLP-1 drugs by 2030

Healthify on Wednesday announced a partnership with Novo Nordisk India, the local arm of the Danish pharmaceutical giant behind the weight-loss drug Wegovy, to provide specialised nutrition support for patients on GLP-1 medications. Alongside the deal, the company unveiled Ria Voice, a real-time Al health coach built with OpenAl. Founder-CEO Tushar Vashisht tells Anees Hussain, how India is on the brink of an inflection point for weight loss drug adoption. Excerpts:

- TUSHAR VASHISHT , FOUNDER-CEO, HEALTHIFY

You are predicting 100 million Indians will be on glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs by 2030.What drives this forecast?

Inthe US, 20% of the population — one in five American adults — have been on GLP-1 justin three years. That's faster than mobile phone or Internet penetration. It's the second fastest adoption in human history after AI. India will followa similar curve. By 2030, 10% of India's population-- 100 million people — could be on GLPs.

Novo just reduced prices, generics are entering next year with Sun Pharmaand Dr Reddy's. By 2030, pricing will be highly accessible like what happened with mobile data. But the drug labels clearly state it's acompanion to nutrition and fitness intervention — that's where we come in.

How does the Novo Nordisk partnership work?