Eli Lilly News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: The Centre is preparing to crack down on the illegal sale, distribution and misuse of sexual enhancement medicines, with the drug regulator warning that it has become a threat to both public safety and social dignity, according to two government officials and a document reviewed by Mint.This regulatory action against unauthorized products sold without valid prescriptions has been ordered by Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) Dr. Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Eli Lilly Chief Executive Dave Ricks was on stage with Nvidia founder Jensen Huang earlier this year in San Francisco touting the company’s tech prowess when Huang teased him about the painstaking process of developing new drugs.“I’m really hoping that your industry moves from drug discovery which is kind of like wandering around the forest looking for truffles,” Huang said, in front of a crowd of biotech and pharma investors.Indeed, Ricks and the rest of the pharmaceutical industry are looking to expand beyond collecting soil samples and bark pieces to find new drugs and are instead turning their hopes—and investment dollars—to AI. Lilly first announced a partnership with chip-maker Nvidia in October to build what it called the industry’s most powerful supercomputer, and expanded that in January with a $1 billion, five-year collaboration mixing their scientists and engineers in a new Bay Area lab aimed at discovering new medicines with AI tools.They aren’t alone.

The simultaneous patent expiry of Ozempic’s active ingredient in China and India on Friday was a watershed moment. Until now, these weight-loss drugs have been available largely to people with means. The launch of affordable generic versions will be a levelling force in healthcare, with global consequences.That’s because the world’s two most-populous countries aren’t just consumers.

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.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Two years ago, a GLP-1 prescription could cost an uninsured patient more than $1,000 a month. Today, Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill starts at just $149 through cash-pay programs.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The White House on Thursday launched its drug-pricing website, dubbed TrumpRx, the culmination of efforts by the administration to bring down pharmaceutical costs for some consumers.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Earlier this month Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk launched its oral Wegovy weight-loss pill in the US, for "needle-averse patients". The starting dose is priced at $149 a month for patients paying in cash, compared to the injectable version's list price of more than $1,300.

It is welcome that the Delhi high court has rejected Novo Nordisk’s effort to extend its patent on specific formulations of the blockbuster drug semaglutide, sold as Ozempic to treat diabetes and as Wegovy for obesity. In 2013, India’s Supreme Court had set a precedent on patent ‘evergreening’ by way of offering it in a different form; it dismissed Novartis’s claim that its new variant of Glivec (effective against leukemia) deserved a separate patent from its original formulation since it offered better bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy without back-up evidence.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. MUMBAI: Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk launched its blockbuster drug Ozempic in India on Friday, priced at ₹8,800 per monthfor a starting dose. The launch comes close on the heels of Wegovy, the company’s other injectable weight-loss drug, which entered the market in June.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Wockhardt Ltd that built its name as a maker of generic drugs is shifting its focus in the US market to developing new antibiotics, turning away from generics and entering a space largely vacated by Big Pharma in recent years. The company is working on new antibiotics and has identified segments for a push into biosimilar drugs, chairman Habil Khorakiwala said, in the wake of promising results shown by Zaynich, an antibiotic it developed in-house.

Eli Lilly, the world's most-valued drugmaker that seeks to shake up India's lifestyle disease management through its recent introduction of weight-loss injectable Mounjaro, is working on a potential breakthrough that offers hope to millions battling chronic heart ailments in South Asia. The US drug major's CEO, David Ricks, told ET the drug in research can potentially cut a specific type of cholesterol that is highly prevalent in Indians and South Asians by as much as 85% to 90%. Eli Lilly, with a market cap of roughly $750 billion, is working on a multitude of treatment modalities with an annual R&D budget that has swelled to $14 billion.

Novo Nordisk A/S agreed to pay United Laboratories International Holdings as much as $2 billion for a next-generation obesity drug, the Danish Ozempic maker's latest move to refill its pipeline of experimental treatments. Novo will pay Hong Kong-based United Laboratories $200 million upfront for the drug, which combines three different mechanisms in an effort to treat obesity as well as diabetes and other diseases, the companies said Monday. Novo agreed to pay as much as $1.8 billion if the drug reaches certain development and sales goals. The deal comes amid growing skepticism from investors that Novo's next-generation portfolio will be sufficient to keep it on top of the hypercompetitive market for weight loss treatments. German software developer SAP SE unseated Novo as Europe's most valuable public company on Monday. Novo's shares traded down as much as 3.1% in Copenhagen. United Laboratories will retain rights in China for its compound, which works in a similar way to Novo rival Eli Lilly & Co.'s retatrutide — considered the strongest among the next-generation drugs currently in late-stage human trials.

Eli Lilly has launched Mounjaro (tirzepatide) in India, a drug hailed for its ability to manage diabetes and trigger dramatic weight loss. Originally designed for type 2 diabetes, its secondary benefit—helping users shed up to 20% of their body weight—has turned it into a global phenomenon. But while the buzz is strong, the drug comes with a steep price tag: ₹3,500 for a 2.5 mg vial and ₹4,375 for 5 mg, making long-term use an expensive commitment.

But, but, but… India’s obesity problem is no small fry, and Big Pharma is racing to cash in. With Eli Lilly launching Mounjaro ahead of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, weight-loss drugs are heating up the market. Meanwhile, PM Modi has waved the red flag on India’s rising obesity crisis— 440 million people could be obese by 2050! This is “huge and scary.” With the economic burden projected to hit a staggering $838.6 billion by 2060 eating up 2.5% of India's GDP. Is India ready for the weight-loss drug wave?

Eli Lilly on Thursday introduced its globally popular anti-diabetes and obesity drug Mounjaro (tirzepatide) in India, kicking off a raft of planned launches in this therapeutic area over the next few months. At the starting dose of 2.5 mg, the drug will cost Rs 14,000 a month, a company official said. The 2.5 mg vial and 5 mg vial will be available at Rs 3,500 and Rs 4,375, respectively. A spokesperson said as Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is a prescription-based product, the treatment plan is determined by a healthcare professional and varies for each individual. Eli Lilly will sell only Mounjaro for both obesity and diabetes in India unlike Zepbound, which is the prescribed obesity drug in the US. The key ingredient tirzepatide is the same for both brands. «The dual burden of obesity and type 2 diabetes is rapidly emerging as a major public health challenge in India,» Winselow Tucker, president and general manager, Lilly India, said in a statement. «Lilly is committed to collaborating with the government and industry to promote awareness and improve the prevention and management of these diseases.»

Eli Lilly & Co has unveiled plans to expand its US manufacturing operations with a $27-billion investment in four new plants set to open in 2025. This brings Lilly’s total US investment to over $50 billion since 2020.

Eli Lilly’s profit doubled in the fourth quarter, propelled by its hot-selling diabetes and obesity treatments, and the drugmaker debuted a mostly better-than-expected 2025 forecast

Philippe Laffont, known for his innovative technology investment portfolio has recently reduced his holdings in two AI chip giants, Nvidia and AMD, as per reports. Find out where he is now investing.

Glassdoor’s revealed that Bain & Company is the top workplace in the US while marking its second consecutive year and sixth overall top ranking, reported CNBC. The consulting firm which is being headquartered in Boston actually achieved a 4.6 rating based on numerous anonymous employee reviews collected between the time of October 2023 and 2024.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. If obesity is a chronic disease, like kidney or heart conditions, demand for GLP-1 drugs shouldn’t ebb and flow with the seasons. But the weight-loss market is far from typical.

obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for Zepbound (Tirzepatide), a drug typically used to manage type 2 diabetes and aid in weight loss, to be used in the treatment of OSA in adults with obesity. This marks the first time an anti-diabetic medication has been approved for managing this serious sleep disorder.