Mankind Pharma in weight loss, anti-obesity drugs race

Mankind plans to foray into GLP-1, a class of medicines used to treat type 2 diabetes, which includes Semaglutide

- Jessica Jani

Mankind Pharma, India's fourth largest drugmaker by domestic sales, is setting its sights on anti-obesity drugs like Semaglutide, better known by brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, which goes off-patent early next year.

The pharma major is the latest among the country's top generics drugmakers, including Dr. Reddy's Laboratories and Natco Pharma, to explore a potential launch of the drug, and is banking on partnerships and its strong market presence to gain an edge, a senior executive told Mint in an interview.

"Obesity is the market everybody wants to look at, it's a very, very big market opening up...we are no exception to that," Atish Majumdar, senior president at Mankind Pharma, told Mint. "We are also keenly looking at it," Majumdar, who leads the company's specialty division out of Mumbai, said.

The company is considering a foray in GLP-1 drugs, a class of medicines used to treat type 2 diabetes, which includes Semaglutide.