MUMBAI: Natco Pharma has heralded what could become an intense pricing war in India’s pharmaceutical sector by offering its version of generic semaglutide that’s 90% cheaper than the original weight-loss drug.
The Hyderabad-based drugmaker has priced its semaglutide injection starting at ₹1,290 per month in vial dosage form. The company will launch its semaglutide brands on Saturday, a day after innovator Novo Nordisk loses patent protection in India.
Eris Lifesciences, which has a partnership with Natco to sell generic semaglutide, said its brand Sundae will be priced at the same rate for the starting dose.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Zydus Lifesciences are also expected to introduce their versions of semaglutide on Saturday. Analysts anticipate the pricing of the drug to drop by half for the generic versions as competition for the market will be intense.
Natco will launch semaglutide under the Semanat and Semafull brands. The multi-dose vials will be priced at ₹1,290 per month for 2 mg/1.5 ml and 4 mg/3 ml and ₹1,750 for 8 mg/3 ml, the company said in a statement on Friday.
A user of Natco’s vial brands would spend ₹7,740 over six months. However, costs may fluctuate based on the dosage prescribed by the physician.
Novo Nordisk’s drugs – Ozempic and Wegovy – are sold in pen devices and priced at ₹8,800 and ₹10,850, respectively, per month for the starting doses. Natco’s pen device – to be launched in April – will be priced at ₹4,000 for 2 mg/1.5ml, ₹4,200 for 4 mg/3 ml and ₹4,500 per month for 8 mg/3 ml.
Eris’ Sundae, in multi-dose vial formats, will cost ₹1,290 per month for the 2 mg/1.5 ml and 4 mg/3 ml variants. The company will launch the pen device in April, priced the same as Natco.
“Natco is the first company to offer generic semaglutide in multi-dose vials with customized syringes… It is the most affordable GLP-1 currently in the Indian market as it is approximately 70% cheaper in cost than the pen device and 90% cheaper than the price of the innovator’s brand,” the company said.
The company will sell the drug directly and also offer it to third parties for co-marketing.
Market size
Semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist used to treat type-2 diabetes and obesity. The GLP-1 market in India, which includes semaglutide brands as well tirzepatide (Mounjaro/Yurpeak), which is a novel molecule by Eli Lilly, has grown to over ₹1,400 crore in just a year of the brands being launched in the country.
CareEdge Ratings estimates the market will grow fivefold in the next five years.
Natco received the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation’s approval to manufacture and market generic semaglutide in India in February.
Novo Nordisk recently cut prices for Wegovy in India. It also launched its blockbuster brand Ozempic in December in an attempt to capitalize on its monopoly before semaglutide lost patent exclusivity.