Mounjaro's India launch

Eli Lilly has launched Mounjaro in India, one of the largest markets in the world with a very active pharmaceutical industry.

As reported by Reuters, Eli Lilly launched Mounjaro (Tirzepatide) for $200/month which is considered pricey in India, but is cheaper than any other offering in other nations.

Mounjaro carries a list price of $1,086.37 for each monthly fill in the U.S., but the amount patients pay largely depends on their insurance plan. Lilly also offers 5 mg, 7.5 mg and 10 mg vials of Zepbound, with prices around $499 for a month's supply if customers pay directly in cash without any third-party entities.

It's becoming clear that GLP1 and access to affordably priced GLP1s is a boon for many countries, and key to improving health outcomes for people. While Eli Lilly attributes the price differences to differences between healthcare systems, many that have up until now been able to use compounding (but no longer can) know that it's possible to have cheaper access to GLP1s, just not currently allowed.

Does India intend to develop GLP1s?

India has a bustling drug manufacturing industry, and while there has been less news on firms in India developing a new GLP1 drug, plans to manufacture existing formulations (in particular Semaglutide) are known:

India to make drugs for diabetes, obesity under PLI by 2026, says report

India plans to incentivize local manufacturing of GLP-1 drugs, crucial for treating diabetes and obesity, starting in 2026, as per a government official speaking to Reuters. These drugs, originally approved for diabetes treatment, are also used for obesity due to their ability to slow digestion and reduce appetite. Novo Nordisk’s patent on semaglutide, a key ingredient in popular drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic, is set to expire in India by 2026. Indian companies are already preparing to manufacture these drugs under the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.

Economic TimesET Online

One important note is that they can only do this after the expiry of the patent on Semaglutide:

Patent expirations for GLP1 Receptor Agonists

How long will we have to wait for generic versions of GLP1 drugs? We take a look at patent expiry dates for the most popular brands & GLP1 formulations.

GLP1 GuideGLP1.Guide Staff

As other large generic manufacturers have already entered the race to produce GLP1s, it looks like 2026 will be a banner year for generic GLP1s, as India is well prepared and motivated to produce them in large quantities for use locally and export.