BIG SHOTS

GIVEN THAT MORE THAN 40% OF INDIAN ADULTS ARE STRUGGLING WITH OBESITY AND DIABETES, AFFORDABLE WEIGHT-LOSS DRUGS ARE EXPECTED TO SIGNIFICANTLY DISRUPT THE PHARMACEUTICAL LANDSCAPE IN THE COUNTRY THIS YEAR. AND, THE WEIGHT MANAGEMENT MARKET COULD REACH ₹3.99 LAKH CRORE BY 2032, GROWING AT A CAGR OF MORE THAN 9%

- NEETU CHANDRA SHARMA

INJECT, REPEAT

OBESITY & DIABETES CRISIS NEARLY 40% OF INDIAN ADULTS ARE OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE, WITH 11.4% LIVING WITH DIABETES, STRAINING HEALTHCARE

NEW DRUGS SEMAGLUTIDE AND TIRZEPATIDE, ORIGINALLY FOR DIABETES, AID IN WEIGHT LOSS, HELPING PATIENTS SHED UP TO 20% OF BODY WEIGHT

INDIA LAUNCH LIKELY BY 2025-26, PENDING TRIALS AND REGULATORY APPROVAL

MARKET GROWTH INDIA'S WEIGHT MANAGEMENT MARKET, WORTH ₹1.73 LAKH CRORE IN 2023, IS SET TO GROW AT 9.3% CAGR TO ₹3.99 LAKH CRORE BY 2032

LOCAL INNOVATION INDIAN COMPANIES LIKE SUN PHARMA, DR. REDDY'S, AND BIOCON ARE DEVELOPING AFFORDABLE ALTERNATIVES TO THESE COSTLY DRUGS

On Christmas Day, when Tesla CEO Elon Musk posed as a slim Santa Claus on X, he gave an unmatched public profile to the anti-obesity drugs Mounjaro and Ozempic with one comment. “Like Cocaine Bear, but Santa and Ozempic,” he said, adding, “Technically, Mounjaro, but that does not have the same ring to it.”

The sudden publicity (Musk has 209 million followers on X) was the icing on the cake. The companies that make these two drugs, Eli Lilly of the US (Mounjaro) and Novo Nordisk of Denmark (Ozempic) are already the darlings of shareholders, with Eli Lilly at No. 13 and Novo Nordisk at No. 25 on a market capitalisation listing. Musk’s Tesla was at No. 8.

So why are people going nuts over these drugs? Cut to a close shot of aam aadmi and obesity.