Novo Nordisk Bets On 'India-Tailored Pricing' With Ozempic Launch For Type-2 Diabetes
With this launch, Ozempic now available in India as a once-weekly injectable formulation of semaglutide. It will be available in a pen format in 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and 1 mg doses in the country.
Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk has launched its blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic in India on Friday, Dec. 12, pricing the lowest dose of 0.25 mg at Rs 2,200 per week. As per Vikrant Shrotriya, MD, Novo Nordisk India, the pharmaceutical giant aims to hit the 'India-tailored pricing' with its once-weekly injectable formulation of semaglutide for Ozempic.
In an exclusive interaction with NDTV Profit, Shrotriya said that India deserves innovational and international quality standards for treatment of obesity and diabetes. With this launch, Ozempic now available in India as a once-weekly injectable formulation of semaglutide. It will be available in a pen format in 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and 1 mg doses in the country.
Novo Nordisk India MD on Ozempic launch
According to the top management, Novo Nordisk India got semaglutide in the form of Ozempic, which is one of the most effective ways to treat type-2 diabetes. Discussing the pricing strategy for India, Shrotriya believes the drug is not cheap at Rs 2,200 per week. But with this price, we can still reach a large number of population in India, if not everyone," he said.
"It is cheaper to control or manage type-2 diabetes now, than to delay and wait for complications to come," he said. "When people don't have an effective control, that cost is far greater than the cost or fees of a doctor or a medication. With Rs 2,200 it is within the reach of quite a lot of people,'' he said.
Ozempic, a once-weekly injectable approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2017 for type 2 diabetes, has become a global bestseller and is widely used off-label for weight loss due to its appetite-suppressing effects. Patients who have type-2 diabetes also have weight issues so Ozempic helps in weight management.
"Ozempic also helps people with weight-loss in people with diabetes... So, this medication has benefits beyond glycemic control," said the Novo Nordisk India head. Novo set monthly prices at Rs 8,800 for the 0.25 mg dose, Rs 10,170 for 0.5 mg and Rs 11,175 for 1 mg. Each pen contains four weekly doses.
Ozempic Prices With Dosage:
Ozempic will be available in 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and 1 mg doses in the country.
Ozempic 0.25 mg priced at Rs 2,200 per week, minimum dose for four weeks
Ozempic 0.5 mg priced at Rs 10,170 for four weeks (Rs 2,542 per week)
Ozempic 1 mg priced at Rs 11,175 for four weeks (Rs 2,793 per week)
Patent expiry, Ozempic side effects
Novo Nordisk's Indian patents are expiring by March 2026. Discussing the same, MD Shrotriya said, "We'll welcome other players in the market, and there might be a fight among prescriptions, but I think the fight against obesity is far greater. Coming to side effects of the drug, he said nausea and vomiting are the most-commonly reported side effects.
''However, they are transient and normally goes away with time," he said. Commenting on other side-effects reported by customers, the management said no causal relations were found between the drug and outcome of side effects. Nearly 75 lakh people worldwide use Ozempic.
The oral semaglutide is in advanced stage of trials, according to Novo Nordisk. India has the world’s second-largest population of type 2 diabetes patients after China and rising obesity rates, making it a key battleground for weight-loss and metabolic drugs, according to a report by news agency Reuters.
