Emcure Pharmaceuticals has reduced the price on its starting dose of obesity drug Poviztra (semaglutide injection) by 55 per cent.
Emcure has a partnership with innovator Novo Nordisk and sells its second brand of obesity drug Wegovy, under its own brandname. The move comes a day after Novo Nordisk slashed prices on its Wegovy and Ozempic, both containing semaglutide. Last week has seen several Indian drugmakers launch their generic versions of semaglutide, after a patent on the drug expired in India, among other markets. The generics priced their products between 50 to 80 per cent lower than the innovator price.
Emcure said its starting dose is pegged at ₹3,999 per month. The innovator’s semaglutide is available in a once-weekly pen device in five strengths of 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1.0 mg, 1.7 mg and a maintenance dose of 2.4 mg. The price reduction will be effective from April 3.
“As the first Indian company to exclusively distribute and commercialise Poviztra®, a second brand of Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide injection for obesity, Emcure aims to expand access and enable more patients to benefit from this proven therapy at the revised price,” Emcure said.
Making It Accessible
Satish Mehta, Emcure Pharma Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, said, “The revised pricing of Poviztra is a step towards making scientifically validated weight-management therapies more accessible and affordable to a wider patient base.”
India is grappling with a growing obesity epidemic, with nearly 254 million people living with generalised obesity and 351 million living with abdominal obesity. Improving access to a globally established molecule like semaglutide is crucial to addressing this public health challenge at scale, he added.