New Delhi: The entry of semaglutide generics in India is ‘stimulating’ market growth and providing a favourable push to Eli Lilly’s blockbuster brand Mounjaro (tirzepatide), said Patrik Jonsson, Executive Vice President and President of Lilly International.
“We have a few weeks of data on generics semaglutide, and it appears they are stimulating growth in the overall obesity market, which includes our product Mounjaro, which is holding its market share quite nicely,” Jonsson told investors at Eli Lilly’s first quarter earnings call.
According to Jonsson, the emerging trends underscores that “dual agonist trumps single agonist”, and moving forward Lilly expect very strong continuity in year-on-year and sequential growth across various markets.
Unlike the traditional GLP-1 therapies such as liraglutide, semaglutide etc., Lilly’s tirzepatide is a dual action therapy which targets two incretin hormone receptors, GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) and GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1). Experts believe the dual action mechanism provides the drug upper hand in insulin secretion, suppressing appetite, and slowing gastric emptying.
In India, Eli Lilly debuted Mounjaro last year and in the 12-month period ending March 2026, it emerged as the highest-selling brand across all therapeutic segments, with an annual turnover of Rs 988 crore, according to PharmaTrac estimates.
However, following the entry of generic semaglutide brands, the tracker suggest, Mounajro’s monthly sales fell to Rs 114 crore in March from Rs 135 crore in the previous month,. Its market share also contracted by 7 percentage points to 64 per cent, compared to 71 per cent from February.
Meanwhile, on a global scale, in the March quarter, the drug posted net sales of $8.7 billion, up from $3.4 billion a year earlier, with international sales accounting for $4.4 billion.
Mounjaro has been launched in more than 55 markets, and we have seen a very strong pace of uptake. We hold over 53 per cent market share in the US, with similar patterns observed across multiple international markets.
In markets like Brazil, Korea, Jonsson told investors, Mounjaro commands over 60 per cent of the market share and from January this year, the drug has been included in China’s National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, further expanding the addressable market and strengthening its market position.
“In recent weeks Mounjaro prescriptions are 10 per cent higher compared to the period prior to generics entered,” he added.
