Diabetes care gets easier: Novo Nordisk launches once-weekly insulin at ₹261 a week

Novo Nordisk on July 9 launched Awiqli (insulin icodec), the world's first once-weekly basal insulin, in India, making the country the seventh market to introduce the therapy as the Danish drugmaker seeks to address one of the biggest challenges in diabetes management, delayed initiation of insulin.

Priced at Rs 261 per week, Awiqli is approved for adults with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The therapy reduces the number of basal insulin injections from 365 to 52 a year, offering an alternative to conventional once-daily basal insulin.

The launch comes as India, home to more than 101 million people with diabetes, continues to grapple with one of the world's largest diabetes burdens. Another 136 million people are estimated to have prediabetes, according to the ICMR-INDIAB study cited by the company.

While insulin becomes necessary for many patients as Type 2 diabetes progresses, treatment is often postponed because of concerns around daily injections, treatment complexity and costs. According to Novo Nordisk, people in India remain on oral medicines for an average of seven to nine years before starting insulin, despite clinical need.

"The launch of Awiqli is a defining moment for diabetes care in India. For more than a century, Novo Nordisk has pursued one ambition: to make insulin therapy simpler, safer and more accessible for patients. Once-weekly dosing has long been an aspiration in our field. Today, it is a reality for India. We believe Awiqli will reduce the psychological and physical barriers to insulin initiation and ultimately help more people achieve better control and a better quality of life," said Vikrant Shrotriya, Managing Director, Novo Nordisk India.

The company said Awiqli is supported by the global ONWARDS Phase 3 clinical programme involving more than 4,000 adults, including Indian participants. Clinical studies showed the once-weekly insulin achieved greater reduction in HbA1c and improved time in range compared with once-daily insulin glargine U100, while maintaining a comparable safety profile.

"Insulin remains the cornerstone of diabetes management for many patients, yet delayed initiation and non-adherence continue to undermine outcomes in clinical practice. Innovations that meaningfully simplify the treatment experience have the potential to change patient behaviour. A once-weekly basal insulin could reduce the apprehension around starting insulin and help clinicians have more productive conversations about timely treatment," said Dr S.K. Wangnoo, Senior Consultant Endocrinologist and Diabetologist at Apollo Centre for Obesity, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals.

India is the seventh country to launch Awiqli after Canada, Germany, China, Italy, Japan and the United States. The product has already received approvals in the US, the European Union and several other countries.