How Indian pharma is eyeing the weight-loss drug opportunity

Summary: India’s pharma companies are gearing up for the GLP-1 boom, especially as weight-loss anti-diabetic drug Ozempic’s patent nears expiry. But which companies will actually profit when Ozempic goes generic? We map the supply chain, market dynamics and potential winners in the story below. Few drugs in modern history have transformed global healthcare and even stock markets as dramatically as the new class of anti-diabetic and weight management GLP-1 therapies. GLP-1 is a hormone that reduces blood sugar and appetite by stimulating insulin release, used especially to treat Type 2 diabetes. Novo Nordisk, the Danish drugmaker behind GLP-1 wonder drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, has seen sales of these two products nearly triple in just two years between 2022 and 2024. The blockbuster growth catapulted its share price to dizzying heights, briefly making it Europe’s most valuable listed company before a recent correction. American rival, Eli Lilly, is not far behind. With Mounjaro, Lilly has capitalised on the same surge in demand and is rapidly closing the gap. Together, Novo and Lilly generated almost $40 billion in revenues from these drugs last year alone, up from $11 billion in 2022. Yet this may only be the beginning. Supply remains constrained, many countries have yet to see full launches and patent protections still restrict wider adoption. But 2026 is expected to be the ‘GLP-1 year’ for India, Canada and Brazil, when semaglutide—the molecule behind Ozempic and Wegovy—loses exclusivity. This matters for India, where diabetes is among the highest in the world, with a rising obesity challenge in urban populations. The convergence of a massive disease burden, expiring patents and growing consumer awareness makes the weight loss drug story a market waiting to unfold. Indian pharma companies are already participating in the drug development process, while many others are waiting to launch their own versions once the patents expire. Indian pharma companies plugging into the supply chain The road from a GLP-1 molecule to the final injection is long and complex, with three critical steps—APIs, devices and fill-finish—and Indian p

This article was originally published on October 06, 2025.