Slimmer price tag helps Wegovy sales gain weight

Mumbai: With a near-40% price cut, Novo Nordisk has finally broken the cost barrier for Wegovy, which had struggled to gain traction in India’s market for weight-loss drugs. The discount, announced last month, is already showing results in increased adoption as Wegovy’s sales volume surged 70% in November within about 20 days of the price cut, signalling immediate consumer response to the lower price.

In terms of volume, Novo Nordisk sold 45,000 units or pre-filled syringes of Wegovy in November after the price cut, compared with 26,000 units in October, according to data from industry tracker PharmaTrac. One pre-filled syringe consists of four shots, which is a month’s dosage. Its market share, meanwhile, rose to 14% from 9% in terms of number of doses.

“The impact of mid-November price reduction of Wegovy is seen in market share,” said Sheetal Sapale, vice-president, commercial at PharmaTrac.

The Danish drug maker, which launched Wegovy in India in June, had so far been unable to match the momentum of American rival Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro (tirzepatide), also a GLP-1 drug, in this market. For the first five months since its India launch in June, Wegovy sales volume stayed at a stagnant level of 23,000-27,000 units.

The competitive intensity is set to further escalate with Ozempic, also from Novo Nordisk, expected to launch later this week and could be priced up to 10% below Wegovy, accelerating price erosion across the category, said industry officials.

“India is a very price-sensitive market and any reduction in price will push up sales,” said diabetologist Rajiv Kovil. “Wegovy price cut was not cosmetic but significant with a 37% reduction in prices of entry-level dosages. It opened up access to many patients who can then continue with it once they see the benefits,” he said. “Ozempic may come at a price 5-10% cheaper than Wegovy.”

On November 11, ET reported that Novo Nordisk had cut Wegovy prices by 20-37% in a bid to compete better with Mounjaro. After the price cut, Wegovy injections cost ₹10,850 for the lowest dose of 0.25 mg for a month’s dose of four shots, ₹13,850 for 0.50 mg and 1 mg, and ₹16,400 for 1.7 mg and 2.4 mg, the sources said. Data from PharmaTrac also show that in terms of value, Wegovy sales stood at ₹12 crore in November, up from ₹9 crore a month ago, while Mounjaro was at ₹108 crore versus ₹100 crore in October. So far Wegovy sales have touched about ₹50 crore since launch, while Mounjaro has grabbed a lion’s share of the market recording sales worth ₹500 crore since mid-March launch.