Drugmakers step up obesity awareness as weight-loss drug race heats up

They may now have to get used to it. Pharmaceutical companies such as Eli Lilly and rival Novo Nordisk are stepping up multimedia awareness campaigns, working around Indian rules that prohibit the direct advertising of prescription drugs, as the race for India’s nascent but lucrative weight-loss drug market intensifies.

Drugmakers are treading a fine regulatory line by not directly promoting their drugs, but building awareness around obesity being a disease and encouraging users to consult doctors. While not entirely unheard of, awareness campaigns by pharma companies at this scale—with multimedia ads on TV, print and social media, and featuring several celebrities—are certainly a first.

The ad campaigns come as these innovators and their Indian partners, such as Cipla and Emcure, face looming generic competition later this month. Semaglutide, Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster weight-loss drug, better known by its brand name Ozempic, is going off patent in a few weeks, opening the door to a flood of cheaper Indian versions.

“Obesity is often misunderstood as a matter of personal responsibility rather than medical complexity. Lilly’s disease awareness campaign addresses this gap by encouraging a science-based understanding, reducing stigma, and encouraging timely conversations with healthcare professionals. Strictly educational in nature and aligned with local regulations and industry codes, it does not reference any therapy, product or treatment claims,” an Eli Lilly spokesperson said in response to Mint's queries.

The launch of Mounjaro by Eli Lilly in March 2025, followed by Wegovy and Ozempic from Novo Nordisk, has pushed India’s GLP-1 drug market past ₹1,000 crore within a year, according to pharma intelligence platform Pharmarack. Yet, awareness among the broader population remains limited. Since Indian regulations prohibit direct-to-consumer drug advertising, companies are turning to multimedia campaigns focused on obesity awareness.

"As a science-driven healthcare company, we are running a disease awareness campaign that aims to educate and empower people living with obesity to take back control of their health. We intend to end the stigma surrounding the obesity narrative by normalising conversations, seeking help and encouraging confidence among individuals who have for long dealt with this alone," a spokesperson for Novo Nordisk India said in response to Mint's emailed queries, adding that all ads are "done in alignment with a robust legal, compliance and regulatory framework."

India has 254 million obese people and over 100 million with diabetes, according to a Lancet study from 2023. Plus, 351 million people suffer from abdominal obesity, while 136 million people were identified as pre-diabetic, making the addressable market massive for these drugs. However, awareness of these treatments remains limited.

While brand strategy experts say this is an important step in establishing brand awareness for these companies.

“The idea behind these campaigns is to almost legitimize obesity as a disease, something where you go and consult a doctor,” Akshat Kharbanda, an independent brand strategist, told Mint. While growing the market is one element, the other is to increase distribution, Kharbanda, who previously worked on Novo Nordisk’s marketing strategy in the UK, Denmark and India, pointed out. “...when you get Bollywood involved, when you run ads between cricket matches, etc., then you're going for a mass-market appeal,” he said.

The campaigns

Eli Lilly has been running a multimedia obesity awareness campaign since last year and announced its next phase in February, with ad films featuring celebrities like Boman Irani, Ratna Pathak and Supriya Pathak to raise awareness of obesity as a disease and urge doctor consultations.

Novo Nordisk has a similar campaign, urging consultations with doctors, with a recent advertisement on the front page of The Times of India that urges readers to consult a doctor and frames itself as the ‘original’ in obesity care. The firm has a website called WeGoWithYou.com’ (sounding eerily similar to its brand Wegovy) for users to check their body mass index, find resources on obesity, and also get a doctor consultation via Tata 1MG or Practo.

Emcure, which markets semaglutide as Poviztra through an exclusive partnership with Novo, has rolled out a similar campaign—Winning Over Obesity—featuring celebrities M.S. Dhoni and Neha Dhupia, alongside social-media doctor-influencers such as Dr. Tanaya Narendra (dr cuterus on Instagram).

In a previous interview with Mint, Emcure’s executive director of operations, Samit Mehta, said that the company expects "that there will be a large portion of usage which will kind of be through a customer pool in terms of going and speaking to the doctor”.

In the US, too, GLP-1 campaigns are increasingly featuring A-list stars as the market gets increasingly competitive. Novo Nordisk ran a commercial for the Wegovy oral pill during Super Bowl 2026, featuring stars like DJ Khaled and John C. Reilly. Serena Williams also endorsed GLP-1 weight-loss medications through a partnership with the tele-health platform Ro in the Super Bowl.

Caution ahead

With domestic giants like Dr. Reddy’s and Sun Pharma poised to enter this market, companies are rushing to secure a solid market share.

Experts believe that GLP-1s will lead to further campaigns and marketing moves, unlocking a new market. PwC global health industries advisory leader Sujay Shetty termed it “consumerisation of pharma,” noting that the perception of GLP-1s lies at the intersection of the pharma and consumer markets.

Doctors, however, cautioned that using celebrities to indirectly promote GLP-1s may lead to misuse. Mumbai-based diabetologist Dr. Rajiv Kovil said that these moves may invariably shift focus towards the cosmetic use of these drugs, as opposed to actual medical benefits, “trivialising the science”.

Drugs that require a prescription cannot be advertised in India under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. Over-the-counter products such as antacids or pain balms can be promoted. Hence, prescription drugmakers rely on “awareness campaigns.” These advertisements typically carry a disclaimer stating that they are intended only to raise awareness of a condition and do not promote a specific product.

Such campaigns appear necessary to the industry because awareness of these treatments remains low. Despite 85% (about 62 million) of overweight Indians actively trying to lose weight, only about 5% of urban Indians are aware of GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) treatments, according to a recently released Kantar survey.

Kantar’s report also found that while GLP-1 awareness is higher among millennials (the cohort born between 1981 and 1996), Gen X (typically those born between 1965 and 1980) bears the highest burden of obesity and diabetes, suggesting a communication gap. As a result, future campaigns are likely to target Gen X audiences. Television, which has a 79% reach within this cohort, could help “effectively engage high-risk, mid-life audiences,” the report said.

Weight-loss advertising has previously drawn regulatory scrutiny. In August 2025, the Central Consumer Protection Authority imposed a penalty of ₹300,000 on beauty clinic chains VLCC Ltd and Kaya Ltd for misleading advertisements about CoolSculpting. The regulator said the companies exaggerated the treatment’s capabilities, noting that the treatment reduces localised fat deposits but does not lead to overall weight loss.

While awareness campaigns for prescription treatments are not unheard of in India, there have been few so far. In November 2017, Cipla launched the “Berok Zindagi” campaign, featuring Priyanka Chopra to raise awareness about asthma and inhalers.

However, with GLP-1s falling somewhere between illness and lifestyle drugs, marketing spends are skyrocketing globally. Novo Nordisk spent nearly $500 million advertising its GLP-1 drugs Wegovy and Ozempic in the US during the first nine months of 2025, more than double the amount Eli Lilly and Co. spent, according to a Reuters report.

With patents on some weight-loss drugs expected to expire soon in India, experts anticipate more awareness campaigns. “There should be more such campaigns to encourage people to discuss weight management, BMI or diabetes with doctors,” said Puneet Avasthi, director, specialist businesses, South Asia, at Kantar.

While budget details of the specific ad campaigns are not available, historically, marketing budgets of multinational companies have been minuscule compared to those of Indian makers of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines. Novo Nordisk India spent ₹14.9 crore (about 0.4% of revenue) on marketing expenses in FY25, according to Tracxn. Indian pharma giant Mankind, which focuses on OTC products such as Manforce condoms and Prega News pregnancy test kits, spent ₹755 crore (about 6% of revenue) that same year.

While brands are willing to spend big bucks for lucrative products, the return on investment (ROI) is hard to quantify. “The brand marketing metrics that you can talk about are spontaneous awareness - how many people on the street recognise the brand, but tying it to a specific ROI figure is tricky,” Kharbanda said.