In today’s Finshots, we tell you how a new diabetes and weight-loss drug could change Indian healthcare and what might hold it back.

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The Story

Last week, American pharma giant Eli Lilly became the first company to launch a powerful new type of diabetes and weight-loss drug—called Tirzepatide (brand name Mounjaro)—in India. This once-weekly injection belongs to a groundbreaking class of medications known as GLP-1 (and GIP) agonists, drugs that don't just control blood sugar but also help patients lose significant weight without extreme dieting.

And if things play out well, this could revolutionize the Indian healthcare market.

But before we get too ahead of ourselves, a quick biology lesson:

When you eat, your food is converted into sugar (glucose) and enters your bloodstream. Normally, your body releases insulin—a hormone that moves this sugar from your blood into your cells, where it’s used for energy. This keeps your blood sugar levels stable.

But in type 2 diabetes, either there isn’t enough insulin, or your body doesn’t respond to it properly. As a result, sugar builds up in the bloodstream. This high blood sugar can lead to fatigue, constant hunger, and weight gain.

That’s why insulin is crucial—not just for managing blood sugar, but for preventing complications associated with diabetes.

However, here’s the thing—insulin doesn’t work alone. There’s a whole hormonal orchestra playing in the background. We won’t get into all of it here, but two key players are worth knowing: GLP-1 and GIP. Think of them as messengers. They alert your body when blood sugar rises, signal insulin to act, tell your brain when you’re full, and slow down digestion so sugar enters the bloodstream more gradually.

They do a lot of stuff in the background. 

And this is exactly what the new class of weight-loss and diabetes drugs is designed to mimic.

The most popular one right now is Semaglutide (promoted under brand names like Ozempic and Wegovy). It replicates the effects of GLP-1—helping the body release more insulin when needed, slowing digestion, and curbing appetite. The second, newer, better version is Tirzepatide (Mounjaro), the Eli Lilly drug that just launched in India. It mimics both GLP-1 and GIP. In addition to boosting insulin and reducing hunger, it also makes insulin work more efficiently—delivering even better blood sugar control.

So does this mean Indian doctors will soon start recommending Eli Lilly’s drug to every patient with Obesity and Type-2 Diabetes? 

Well, the answer to that question is a tad bit complicated. According to Reuters, the injection is priced at ₹4,375 for a 5 mg vial and ₹3,500 for a 2.5 mg vial, its lowest doses. 

That may not seem like a lot of first. 

But patients on the drug typically see meaningful weight loss only after a few weeks—around 5 kg in 8 weeks and 10 kg in about 16 weeks, as the dose is gradually increased over time.

At the starting dose of 2.5 mg, reaching a 5 kg weight loss would require roughly 8 weekly injections, costing around ₹28,000. A 10 kg drop, usually seen over 16 weeks, would bring the total to approximately ₹56,000.

Ouch!!

But wait, that’s not all.

People often stay on these drugs for the long term, especially when they’re prescribed for type 2 diabetes management. If the goal is weight loss, doctors typically recommend using these medications continuously—even after hitting a target weight—to maintain the results.

Stopping these medications often leads to weight regain. So many patients remain on them for as long as their doctor deems necessary and they can tolerate it. 

And that means over a 12 month term, you could end up spending over ₹2 lakhs on the drug alone. 

That is very very expensive. 

But there’s an important catch: the patents protecting these treatments won’t last forever.

For instance, Semaglutide (Ozempic) will lose its patent protection in India in 2026 and you can bet that Indian pharma companies are already preparing their own cheaper variants. Their biggest challenge right now is the nature of the treatment itself. Unlike typical medications, GLP-1–based treatments are biologics, meaning they’re large, complex proteins produced in living cells (yeast or bacteria, for example). And these proteins are so structurally intricate and unique that you can’t make an exact copy—only a very close match. 

So pharma companies have to work around this problem. They have to develop "biosimilars," which closely match the original drug’s safety, effectiveness, and quality, but aren't identical copies.

And not every company has the capability to produce this stuff. 

The good news however is that some Indian firms have made significant progress. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, for instance, recently launched Lirafit, a biosimilar of another GLP-1 drug, liraglutide, priced at around ₹100 a day—about 70% cheaper than existing branded options. Meanwhile, Sun Pharmaceuticals is taking a different route. Rather than replicating existing drugs, it's developing a new molecule called GL0034, designed to deliver similar or potentially better results, with a structure distinct enough to be patented on its own.

And if India’s pharmaceutical industry can crack the code, it could dramatically change access to these life-altering drugs.  India has over 100 million people living with diabetes and an estimated 70 million battling obesity. Among children, the numbers are equally stark. Over 14 million children in India are estimated to be overweight or obese.  This isn’t a future problem. It’s already a national epidemic.

So yes, Eli Lilly may have taken the first step. But the real turning point will come when Indian companies bring costs down and scale access for the masses.

When will that happen?

Hopefully soon—maybe 2026.

Until then,

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