Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk on Monday announced an exclusive partnership with Pune-based Emcure Pharmaceuticals to widely distribute its weight-loss therapy semaglutide, as competition in India’s fast-growing anti-obesity drug market heats up.
The announcement comes soon after US drug giant Eli Lilly announced a similar tie-up last month with Mumbai-headquartered Cipla to distribute its anti-obesity drug Tirzepatide.
Novo and Emcure will launch semaglutide under a new brand name, Poviztra, as a 2.4mg weekly injection, they said in a joint statement. The companies did not yet reveal the pricing strategy and launch date, but said that they would be “very competitive” in pricing.
Novo Nordisk currently markets semaglutide in India under brand name Wegovy, launched in June 2025, and Rybelsus, an oral pill launched in 2022. Wegovy is also a once-a-week injectable, sold in five dosages: 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg, and a maintenance dose of 2.4 mg. The first three are priced at ₹4,336 per dose or ₹17,345 monthly, while the 1.7 mg dose is priced at ₹24,280 and the 2.4 mg at ₹26,015 per month.
The idea behind partnering with a domestic player is to increase scale and access pockets of patients beyond their existing reach, Novo Nordisk’s India managing director Vikrant Shrotriya told reporters in a virtual press conference on Monday.
“I don’t think obesity is limited to a metro town in India or a [tier 1 or 2] town. I think it has penetrated a wide section of our society, down to villages,” said Shrotriya. “What we are seeing is a very, very small patient percentage of the population getting access today. But we believe along with Emcure that this will go wide across in India in terms of access.”
“Today, it is limited to specialists and endocrinologists [who prescribe it]. And I’m sure over a period, with the kind of population which is getting affected, more and more doctors will embrace it in terms of prescribing these drugs,” he added.
Emcure’s plan
Emcure is the 14th largest pharmaceutical company in India by sales as of FY25. The partnership marks its entry into the anti-obesity segment, and the company plans to leverage its on-ground sales force and distribution network to increase penetration.
The company is a leader in gynaecology (ranked number 2 in the Indian market), and has been expanding its dermatology and cardiovascular (in partnership with Sanofi) portfolios this year.
The company has 30 CNF agents (carrying and forwarding agents) across the country, and covers more than 40-50% of pharmacies in the country, Emcure chief executive officer and managing director Satish Mehta said.
“We have a great distribution network. So to that extent, even in the remote part of the country, we are confident of reaching the product in the shortest possible period,” he said.
The drugmaker has 5,000 medical representatives, and will target several therapies and specialists for the drug. “This can be used in chronic kidney disease (CKD), we are very strong in nephro, we have a division in hepatology, and it has indications in fatty liver disease, I believe it should also be useful in gynaecology,” Mehta said.
In comparison, Cipla has a field force of 11,512 medical representatives in India as of FY25.
Currently, Wevogy is indicated for chronic weight management and to reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in people with obesity in India.
Globally, semaglutide has been approved by the US FDA for treating chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular event risks and MASH (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis) or fatty liver disease as well. Shrotriya said that the company is working on regulatory submissions for further doses and indications in India as well.
Novo’s challenge
Novo Nordisk, which saw its fortunes shoot up on the back of blockbuster drug semaglutide, has been fighting a tight battle with competitor Eli Lilly, as well as others like Pfizer globally.
With intensifying competition weighing on the drugmaker, it recently lowered its full-year 2025 sales and profit forecasts due to slower-than-expected growth in Ozempic and Wegovy, its key drugs. The company has lowered its full-year sales growth forecast to 8-11% and operating profit growth to 4-7%.
Novo hasn’t yet launched Ozempic in India.
Globally, sales of Wegovy and Ozempic grew at a slower pace in Q3 2025 compared to previous quarters, with Wegovy’s year-over-year growth at 18% (down from 67% in Q2) and Ozempic’s at 3% (down from 15% in Q2).
India, with 254 million obese people and over 100 million with diabetes, is the latest battleground for weight-loss drugmakers. Novo lost the early-mover advantage to Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro, which was launched in March 2025, and has outpaced its sales by 10x as of October 2025.
Furthermore, the company faces stiff competition from generic players next year, as semaglutide is set to lose its patent exclusivity in March. Top domestic drugmakers like Mankind Pharma, Dr Reddy’s and Sun Pharma are preparing to launch cheaper copycat versions of the weight-loss drug.
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