Novo Nordisk slashes weight-loss drug Wegovy's prices as competition heats up

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk on Tuesday announced it was slashing the price of its weight-loss drug Wegovy in India. The company said the monthly price of its once-a-week injection would now be 37% cheaper at ₹10,850 for the starting dose from ₹17,345 earlier.

The announcement comes as the Danish drugmaker struggles to grab significant market share in the Indian market before it loses patent exclusivity in March. Once the drug loses patent, several Indian generic drugmakers, including Dr Reddy’s, Sun Pharma, Mankind Pharma, Natco, etc are poised to enter the market with lower-priced versions.

Wegovy (semaglutide) was launched in India in June 2025 as a once-a-week pen device in five dose strengths: 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg and 2.4 mg. The weekly dose price is down to ₹2,712 from ₹4,336.

The revised monthly price for the 0.5 mg and 1 mg doses is ₹13,850 while the last two doses will cost ₹16,400 each.

Novo’s move will add pressure on incoming domestic players to further lower their generic costs to remain competitive. This is similar to the US market, where large market drugs that may attract branded competition often see prices fall even before loss of market exclusivity.

“Obesity is a serious concern for India and this price revision underlines our mission to provide quality obesity treatment to Indians which is effective, safe, convenient and can be sustained in their daily lives,” Novo Nordisk India managing director Vikrant Shrotriya said in a statement.

On Monday, Novo Nordisk announced an exclusive partnership with Pune-based Emcure Pharmaceuticals to distribute its weight-loss drug under the Poviztra brand name as a 2.4 mg weekly injection. While the two firms did not reveal pricing or the launch timing, they said they would be “very competitive” in pricing. The idea behind the partnership is to increase Novo Nordisk’s access to markets beyond its reach.

While Novo Nordisk is facing an incoming generics challenge, it is also battling with competitor Eli Lilly, which has gained a significant share of India’s weight loss drug market with its drug Mounjaro.

In October, Mounjaro became the country’s top selling brand, with ₹100 crore sales. Lilly launched Mounjaro in India in late March 2025. The drug’s price starts at ₹14,000 a month for the 2.5 mg dose, going up to ₹27,500 for the 15-mg dose.

Mounjaro has also continued to outpace Wegovy, with monthly sales of the former being almost 10 times that of Wegovy as of October, according to data from pharma intelligence platform Pharmarack.