Despite the slew of generically similar versions of semaglutide recently launched in India, Emcure Pharmaceuticals expects its weightloss drug Poviztra (semaglutide injection) to be one of its top brands, Emcure executives said, even as the company crossed a milestone of $1 billion revenues for the year ended March 31, 2026.
Emcure sells the innovator Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy under a second brandname, and earlier in April, it slashed prices on the product by over 50 percent.
Full Might
“We’ve proactively taken a very steep price cut, and we really believe that this price is now a sweet spot,” Samit Mehta, Emcure Whole-Time director told businessline, adding that close to 1000 medical representatives across divisions and specialities are focussed on promoting the product. “We put the full might behind Poviztra. And the early indications, even after genericization, look positive. Eventually over the course of this year, we expect this to be one of the top brands for us,” he said.
Satish Mehta, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director pointed out, that usually there was a huge differential between the innovator’s product and generics, after the patent expires.
“Here, what has happened because of the proactive approach taken by Novo Nordisk, the difference between generic and innovation is not very significant. So obviously, we have a competitive advantage because of the correct pricing strategy or aggressive pricing strategy backed up by science, clinical data. And that is paying dividends,” he added.
Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Danish healthcare major Novo Nordisk’s wieghtloss product Wegovy and diabetes product Ozempic. And with a basic patent on semaglutide expiring late-March in India, among other markets, a number of generic drug makers launched their similar versions, at 50 – 80 per cent of the innovator price. In this case, the innovator Novo Nordisk and partners Emcure and Abbott had also undertaken price-cuts, making the innovator product competitive.
Financial Performance
Emcure executives were speaking after the company announced its financial performance for the fourth quarter and FY26. The company’s revenue from operations stood at ₹9,204 crore, up 16.6 per cent over last year; and its profit after tax stood at ₹941 crore, up 33.1 per cent. Emcure’s Q4 revenue from operations stood at ₹2,470 crore, up 16.7 per cent over the same period last year. Its PAT stood at ₹244 crore, up 23.6 per cent over Q4, last year.
Satish Mehta said, “We strategically expanded through in-licensing, Zuventus minority buyoutand bolt-on acquisitions in the UK and Canada. Our R&D (research and development) pipeline in complex injectables and biosimilars remains a key driver of future value.” The company could look at a local acquisition opportunity in strategic therapeutic areas, he added.
As the war continues in West Asia, the company officials said, most companies have inventory for about two quarters in the pipeline. But the impact would be felt if it continues unabated, they added.