By Rishika Sadam
BENGALURU (Reuters) -Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk on Tuesday cut the price of its blockbuster weight-loss drug, Wegovy, by up to 33% in India, according to a document seen by Reuters, as it looks to gain ground in one of the world’s fast-growing markets for obesity treatments.
U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk rose 3.8% to $47.67, while Lilly shares were marginally up in morning trade.
India is turning out to be a key battleground for Novo Nordisk and U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly as they compete fiercely for a bigger share of the global market for weight-loss drugs that analysts estimate could be worth $150 billion annually by the end of the decade.
Wegovy’s highest dose of 2.4 mg will now cost 16,400 rupees ($186.59), compared with its earlier price of 24,389.06 rupees, the document sent by Novo to drug distributors showed. Its lowest dose of 0.25 mg will sell at 10,850 rupees, compared with 16,260.94 rupees earlier.
Wegovy entered the market in June and is playing catch-up to Lilly’s Mounjaro, whose sales have doubled within months of its launch in India in March.
Both drugs are part of a class of treatments called GLP-1 receptor agonists, which promote a longer-lasting feeling of fullness and are prescribed for obesity and diabetes.
Wegovy’s active ingredient semaglutide goes off patent in India in March 2026, paving the way for generic drugmakers to enter the market.
The price cut comes days after Mounjaro became India’s top-selling drug by value in October.
“This could also be because generics are also entering the market in 2026, so a lower price will help Novo compete better,” Systematix Institutional Equities analyst Vishal Manchanda said, noting how Mounjaro is “doing better” than Wegovy in India.
“So, this might be a move to be able to sell more,” Manchanda said.
Novo Nordisk did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The two companies are also looking to sell their treatments under different brand names, with Lilly striking a partnership with Cipla for Mounjaro and Novo Nordisk with Emcure Pharma for Wegovy, in a move that experts say will help widen the distribution of these drugs in India.
($1 = 87.8950 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Rishika Sadam and Kashish Tandon; Editing by Dhanya Skariachan and Anil D’Silva)
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