



Obesity drugs may spur licensing, distribution deals for Indian drugmakers after patent expires
The growing popularity of obesity drugs is expected to spur Indian pharma companies to sign licensing partnerships and distribution deals as they eye the lucrative segment. Indian companies started signing big-ticket deals with innovators for novel GLP-1s, as well as generic versions, last year.
This trend is likely to continue this year as the market opens up with the expiry of semaglutide’s patent, according to experts.Given the complex regulatory pathway and manufacturing required for a GLP-1 pen, which involves manufacturing the compound, the pen and the fill-finish (filling the pen with the formulated drug), analysts said companies may tie up with others to bolster their supply chain and grab a larger share of the market.GLP-1s (glucagon-like peptide-1s) are a class of drugs used to treat type-2 diabetes and obesity, which mimic the body’s GLP-1 hormone to control appetite and regulate insulin.Lupin announced a license, supply and distribution agreement with Chinese firm Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals for Bofanglutide, a novel GLP-1 drug to be taken fortnightly, which is currently under development. Lupin will have exclusive rights to commercialize and distribute Bofanglutide in India, the company said on 29 December.Ajanta Pharma inked a deal with Biocon on 23 December to distribute generic semaglutide (popularly known by its brand names Ozempic and Wegovy) in 26 African and Asian countries once the drug’s patent expires in these markets this year.
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