India Pharma Outlook Team | Thursday, 24 July 2025
Dr Reddy's Laboratories is poised to launch a lower-cost generic version of Novo Nordisk's obesity drug Wegovy (semaglutide) in 87 markets from next year. The announcement by CEO Erez Israeli positions the Indian pharma giant to benefit from the rapidly expanding global obesity medicine market, which is expected to cross $150 billion in sales by the early 2030s.
The launch will begin in the large emerging markets first, such as Canada, India, Brazil, and Turkey, on a patent expiration basis. "The U.S. and Europe would follow later. All the rest of the Western markets would be open between 2029 to 2033," Israeli said on the latest earnings call of the company.
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Drug sales of GLP-1 receptor agonists, including semaglutide, have picked up after the global success of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro. The drugs are prescribed for controlling blood sugar, lowering hunger, and weight loss. Dr Reddy's believes that its generic drug can also make hundreds of millions of dollars.
Even though the Indian patent for semaglutide is set to expire in March 2025, Dr Reddy's faces a legal issue. In May, the company was sued by Novo Nordisk for patent infringement. Despite that, regulatory filings across all 87 targeted markets have been submitted.
Consistent with its long-term vision, Dr Reddy's will introduce 26 GLP-1-based drugs in the next ten years. The step is an indicator of the growing battle between pill makers intent on tapping the fast-growing obesity drug market amidst impending patent expiration and rising global demand.
