Novo Nordisk says patent expiry will not dent Ozempic's India market potential

The imminent Indian patent expiry of Novo Nordisk’s global blockbuster anti-diabetic and weight loss treatment drug – the GLP-1 molecule semaglutide – will not affect the sales potential of the company’s semaglutide brands Ozempic and Wegovy in the country, says Ludovic Helfgott, Executive Vice-President and Head, Product & Portfolio Strategy, Novo Nordisk.

In an interaction with Fortune India, Helfgott said the primary reason for the continuing demand in spite of generic competition for Ozempic, Wegovy and other semaglutide brands the company sells in India is the massive unmet need for these drugs that exist today.

“We are talking about roughly 100 million people in India living with diabetes, around 130–135 million with pre-diabetes, and approximately 250 million people living with overweight and obesity. The scale of the unmet need is enormous. We are only beginning to address this challenge”, Helfgott said.

According to him, the game is just starting. “With the recent launch of Ozempic in India, which is part of our diabetes portfolio, we continue to expand our presence. Earlier, we were the first with an oral GLP-1 through Rybelsus, and now we also have an injectable option. In obesity, we have Wegovy, which we are actively discussing with multiple partners, both offline and online, internally and externally”, he said. Helfgott admits that Indian GLP-1market has become a highly competitive space recently, with global players and, increasingly, local players as well. “That is positive. We welcome competition. It strengthens the market, and we believe strongly in our ability to demonstrate the value of our portfolio across oral and injectable treatments for diabetes supported by strong data on efficacy and tolerability. The market is still in its early stages. This is just the beginning”, he said.

Novo Nordisk has been selling oral semaglutide as a diabetes drug in India for a few years now. The company then launched its obesity brand, and also semaglutide injectable for diabetes. However, the company believes it is still just scratching the surface when it comes to patient support. “Loss of exclusivity is something we have long understood; it is a natural part of the pharmaceutical lifecycle. We believe strongly in the quality of our medicines and in the way we are launching them in India, together with our partners. This approach will create a highly competitive value proposition for patients”, Helfgott said. “What ultimately matters is our ability to deliver innovation and to ensure that this innovation is recognised by the Indian patient community and by physicians. While it is important to talk about patients and consumers, physicians remain a critical pillar in how we support patients”, he added.