India Pharma Outlook Team | Monday, 24 August 2026
Today’s pharma news includes drug launches, USFDA approvals and obesity drugs as global pharmaceutical companies push new treatments and expand manufacturing capacity.
Eli Lilly has launched Foundayo, its oral weight management and type 2 diabetes pills, in the UK, opening its first European market for the treatment.
Jubilant Pharmova has secured USFDA clearance to commercially manufacture the first product on its new isolator-based fill-and-finish Line 3 in Spokane.
Natco Pharma has received four FDA observations at its Visakhapatnam formulations facility. Meanwhile, Hanmi Pharmaceutical has signed a potential USD 2.305 billion licensing deal with Genentech for HM17321, a muscle-preserving obesity drug candidate.
Eli Lilly has launched Foundayo, the brand name for orforglipron, in the UK for weight management and type 2 diabetes. The UK becomes the first European country where patients can access the oral treatment. The UK medicines regulator authorised Foundayo on August 10, making it the second oral GLP-1 medicine cleared in the country after Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill.
Patients can obtain Foundayo through private prescriptions. Lilly expects the medicine to cost between 100 and 120, significantly below the roughly 330 monthly costs of Mounjaro injections. Lilly also continues discussions with NICE over a potential NHS rollout. Foundayo remains under European Union review, while Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill has already received a positive European Medicines Agency recommendation.
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Jubilant Pharmova has received USFDA approval for commercial batch manufacturing of the first product on its new isolator-based fill-and-finish Line 3 at the Jubilant HollisterStier facility in Spokane, Washington. The clearance allows the company to move the line into commercial production.
Jubilant invested USD 132 million in the new sterile-injectables line. The company’s broader multi-phase Spokane expansion targets USD 300 million by FY28 and aims to double manufacturing capacity. The facility provides end-to-end support from process qualification through commercial release for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical clients across North America.
Jubilant HollisterStier operates as a step-down subsidiary of Jubilant Pharmova. The company also runs sterile injectable manufacturing operations in Spokane and Montreal, along with an FDA-approved API facility in Nanjangud, Karnataka.
Natco Pharma’s finished dosage formulations facility in Parawada, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, received four observations from the USFDA after an inspection. The regulator issued a Form 483 at the conclusion of the inspection.
Natco described the observations as procedural in nature and said it remains confident of addressing them comprehensively within the stipulated timelines. FDA inspectors issue observations when they identify conditions that may violate the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Such observations allow companies to take corrective action before regulators consider further action.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical has licensed its muscle-preserving obesity drug candidate HM17321 to Roche Group’s Genentech in a deal worth up to USD 2.305 billion, making it a major South Korean pharma licensing transaction. The agreement includes a USD 190 million upfront payment and up to USD 2.115 billion in clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones, plus royalties linked to annual net sales after launch.
Genentech gains exclusive global rights, excluding South Korea, to research, develop, manufacture and commercialize HM17321. Hanmi will complete the ongoing Phase 1 trial, while Genentech plans to lead development from Phase 2 onward. The deal still requires completion of the US Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust review.
Choi In-young, Vice President of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, said, "The obesity treatment paradigm is evolving beyond simple weight loss toward body composition improvement and metabolic health restoration. HM17321's differentiated scientific mechanism and potential have been recognized in the global market."
HM17321 uses a mechanism distinct from GLP-1 drugs. The UCN2 analog selectively activates the CRF2 receptor and aims to reduce body fat while preserving or increasing lean muscle mass. Hanmi developed the candidate using AI and structural modeling technologies. Its FDA-approved IND currently supports a Phase 1 study evaluating safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics.
The latest developments point to a pharma sector balancing innovation with regulatory execution. Eli Lilly and Hanmi are intensifying the race for next-generation obesity drugs, while Jubilant Pharmova’s USFDA clearance shows how capacity expansion can translate into commercial manufacturing. At the same time, Natco Pharma’s four FDA observations underline the continued importance of compliance and quality systems. Overall, the developments show that drug launches, differentiated therapies, manufacturing scale and regulatory readiness are increasingly shaping competitive advantage in pharma.
