24-06-2025
Wegovy, the global sensation in obesity management, launched in India
Wegovy—which needs to be taken as a weekly injection—has semaglutide as an active pharmaceutical ingredient which delivers its full therapeutic strengths for complete obesity and weight management, even though low-dose semaglutide, under the brand name Rybelsus in the form of oral pills has been available in India since 2022.
New Delhi: Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk's Corporate Vice-President and Managing Director, India, Vikrant Shrotriya Tuesday announced the launch of the firm's global blockbuster fat-busting drug Wegovy in India, months after the launch of another top selling obesity drug Mounjaro in the country by US based pharma giant Eli Lilly & Company.
Semaglutide helps regulate blood sugar levels, and works by binding to receptors of the gut hormone Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). It contains a compound known as (GLP-1) receptor agonist, which mimics the naturally occurring gut hormone known to send signals of a full appetite to the brain. It is known to reduce body weight by around 15 percent after 68 weeks on average.
The launch of the drug comes in India just before its patent is set to expire next year and various Indian drugmakers are set to launch its generic versions, promising to bring down the costs drastically.
The largest-of-its-kind survey by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF), which was released in 2023, said that 254 million Indians, or 28.6 percent of the population, had generalised obesity.
Obesity has increasingly been recognised as the root cause of various non-communicable diseases such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular conditions, disorders of kidney and liver and various cancers, among others.
Wegovy and Mounjaro are typically indicated for those who have body mass index of 30 and above under strict expert supervision, as these drugs are also associated with various side-effects.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
Also read: Fat-busting drug Mounjaro launched in India. Here's how much it will cost
