Eli Lilly is establishing India as a strategic center point in its global supply chain, with the assistance of the robust contract manufacturing ecosystem in the country as a part of its earlier stated plan to invest up to 1 billion dollars in it.
The relocation follows after its blockbuster weight-loss drug, Mounjaro, doubled sales in India in a few months of its introduction being the best selling product in the company by value. The boom is indicative of the increasing awareness and demand of obesity cure in a nation that is expected to have the second-largest obese population in the world by 2050.
Talking on the outskirts of the BioAsia conference in Hyderabad, Winselow Tucker, the President of Lilly India, indicated that the company would be incorporating India in its broader global supply chain by exporting products manufactured locally to the foreign markets. Although Lilly does not own a manufacturing plant in India at the time, it plans to expand relationships with the contract manufacturers in the long term.
In addition to Mounjaro, Lilly is positioned to launch other drugs such as the Alzheimer drug donanemab and experimental oral obesity therapy orforglipron, which will be introduced based on regulatory clearances.
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Lilly is involved in a dynamic market in India where it competes with Novo Nordisk, the producer of Wegovy. Competitive pricing is increasing as generic versions of semaglutide will soon be availed due to the expiry of the patent. Nevertheless, Lilly continues to hold that the differentiated efficacy of Mounjaro is in line with its value-based pricing approach.
In a move to expand digital coverage to penetrate the markets further, the company is increasing distribution networks through partnering with Cipla, Tata 1MG, Practo and Apollo, thereby extending accessibility to the metropolitan centres.
