Novo further cuts semaglutide prices as generics enter India

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk on Tuesday announced price cuts of up to 48% on its blockbuster diabetes and obesity drugs Ozempic and Wegovy in India, weeks after semaglutide—the active ingredient behind the two drugs—lost patent exclusivity in the country and dozens of domestic pharmaceutical companies launched lower-priced versions.

The company has reduced prices on starting doses of its diabetes formulation of semaglutide by 36%, and on its obesity formulation, Wegovy, by 48%. Across the full course of treatment, the average price reduction works out to 24% for the diabetes indication and 27% for obesity, Vikrant Shrotriya, Managing Director, Novo Nordisk India, told Business Today. "We have taken a patient-centric approach and we are very happy to announce this price cut," Shrotriya said.

The announcement comes after semaglutide’s core patents expired in March 2026, according to filings with the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). Branded semaglutide was priced above Rs 10,000 a month before generic entry. Some generic versions are now being offered below Rs 2,000 a month in some cases, a drop of as much as 90% from earlier branded prices.

The market potential is substantial. India’s GLP-1 receptor agonist market was valued at approximately $110 million (about ₹900 crore) in 2024 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 34.3% through 2030, according to Grand View Research. According to the International Diabetes Federation’s Diabetes Atlas 2024, India has 135 million people living with diabetes, the largest absolute burden globally. Novo Nordisk’s own estimates, cited by Shrotriya, put the number of Indians living with overweight and obesity at 250 million by BMI thresholds, and 350 million when measured by central obesity parameters.

 

Pricing pressure intensifies

Faced with competition from lower-priced generics, Novo Nordisk is leaning on its manufacturing track record and clinical data as key differentiators for Wegovy. The company says it has been producing semaglutide for more than a decade using a DNA-based manufacturing process, and that its quality controls and safety profile distinguish it from newer entrants.

"That kind of quality control, the immunogenicity profile, the safety, that has been a standard for Novo Nordisk over the years," Shrotriya said. He also pointed to the breadth of clinical evidence. "The company has researched this molecule not only for diabetes and obesity, but also for cardiovascular conditions, kidney problems, and more recently in fatty liver conditions. Close to 50 trials and approximately 49 million patient-years of data differentiate our semaglutide from others in the market," he said.

Data from the SELECT trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in November 2023, showed a 20% reduction in major cardiovascular events in overweight and obese adults treated with semaglutide. The company is positioning Wegovy as a therapy with broader metabolic applications beyond weight loss.

"It is not just one positioning. It has multiple roles across patient populations, including cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, and obesity," Shrotriya said.

 

Access and distribution push

To widen access, Novo Nordisk has entered into distribution partnerships with domestic companies. Shrotriya confirmed tie-ups with Emcure Pharmaceuticals for the obesity indication and Abbott India Ltd for the diabetes formulation.

"We have collaborated with Emcure, which is well entrenched across India, and also with Abbott for semaglutide in diabetes, so that this molecule is available across India and, when prescribed, is used appropriately by doctors," he said. A 2024 survey by the Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India found that fewer than a third of general practitioners in non-metro cities felt confident initiating GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy without specialist support.

Despite price reductions, affordability remains a challenge. Data from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India shows that metabolic and obesity-related therapies are largely excluded from retail health insurance policies. "In India, the medicalisation of obesity or semaglutide is still recent. I hope that over time obesity treatment gets coverage, but this is just the start of the journey and we may have to wait," Shrotriya said.

 

Next phase of competition

The expansion of generics has been accompanied by a rise in unsupervised use. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has noted complaints linked to injectable misuse and self medicaiton. "People should not do it. It is a serious medication and we continue to make every effort, along with the government, to ensure that it remains under medical supervision," Shrotriya said.

With semaglutide now off patent, Novo Nordisk is looking to its next generation of therapies. Shrotriya pointed to oral semaglutide for obesity and pipeline candidates such as amycretin.  "We also have semaglutide tablets for obesity and amycretin, which is showing promising results. Some of these next-generation therapies are coming from our laboratories," he said.