The bumper rise is due to the rising demand for the drug and patients’ gradual shift towards its higher dosage.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Raimond Spekking/CC BY-SA 4.0/wikipedia.org/Creative Commons
US drugmaker Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug Mounjaro (tirzepatide) recorded Rs 80 crore (Rs 800 million) in revenue during September, becoming the second-most sold drug in terms of value in India, according to data from market research firm Pharmarack.
The highest-selling drug for the month was GlaxoSmithKline’s Augmentin, an antibiotic, garnering revenues of Rs 85 crore (Rs 850 million).
Mounjaro’s September sales have almost seen a 42 per cent increase from the Rs 56 crore (Rs 560 million) recorded in August.
The bumper rise is due to the rising demand for the drug and patients’ gradual shift towards its higher dosage, according to experts.
“The demand for Mounjaro has been high with the drug garnering a cumulative revenue of Rs 233 crore (Rs 2.33 billion) since its launch in the country in March,” said Sheetal Sapale, vice-president (commercial) at Pharmarack.
The drug is currently available in two injectable dosage forms — 2.5 and 5 milligrams (mg) — priced between Rs 14,000 and Rs 17,500 per month.
Existing patients have to upgrade to higher doses after four weeks, whereas new patients are onboarding Mounjaro in good numbers.
Prescribed primarily for controlling obesity and diabetes, Mounjaro’s sales rise comes as Lilly received Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) approval to market it in a ready-to-use prefilled KwikPen format.
With the world’s third-highest overweight and obese people, India is an emerging hotspot for weight-loss treatments.
According to an Indian Council of Medical Research-INDIAB (India Diabetes) study, the country has 254 million people with generalised obesity and 351 million with abdominal obesity.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff