Weight-loss medicine goes on sale in India

American drug-maker Eli Lilly and Company launched its weight-loss injectable drug Mounjaro in India on Thursday, becoming the first multinational pharma firm to bring a treatment already widely used in Western markets to India, where obesity and associated type-2 diabetes poses a major health burden.

- Rhythma Kaul

NEW DELHI:

Launched as a once-weekly injection, the drug is priced at ₹4,375 rupees for a 5 mg vial and ₹3,500 rupees for a 2.5 mg vial, its lowest dose, the company said separately.

The drug, which earlier received authorisation from India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on June 16, 2024 for import and sales, has demonstrated significant weight-reduction effects in clinical trials. Adults participating in controlled studies lost an average of 21.8 kilogrammes at the highest dose and 15.4 kilogrammes at the lowest dose over 72 weeks when combined with diet and exercise, according to company data.

Mounjaro, known chemically as tirzepatide, has already gained popularity in the US, UK and European markets. Since the CDSCO authorisation, Indian patients had been importing the drug for personal use prior to the India launch, which helps bring the cost. A monthly course of four 2.5mg shots in India, based on the above pricing, comes to about ₹14,000, while in a country such as the UK, it costs ₹23,000 to ₹25,000 when converted to Indian currency.