Novo Nordisk launches Ozempic in India for type 2 diabetes at Rs 2,200 per week

Danish pharma major Novo Nordisk on Friday launched its blockbuster type 2 diabetes treatment injection Ozempic in India, expanding access to a drug that has gained global attention for its weight-loss benefits.

Ozempic is available in India in 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and 1 mg doses in a once-weekly ‘FlexTouch Pen’ device, priced from Rs 2,200 per week, the company announced. Each pen contains four once-weekly doses.

Patients prescribed Ozempic will begin with a 0.25 mg dose for four weeks at a total cost of Rs 8,800. Based on the doctor’s assessment, patients then move to the next ‘step’ of 0.5 mg for at least four weeks at a cost of Rs 10,170, or to the ‘stay’ stage of 1 mg per week, with the monthly cost pegged at Rs 11,175.

Ozempic is Novo Nordisk’s second medicine containing semaglutide to be launched in India, following the introduction of its weight-loss drug Wegovy.

While Wegovy, launched in India in June 2025, is indicated for chronic weight management, Novo Nordisk is positioning Ozempic strictly as a treatment for type 2 diabetes with weight-loss benefits. The drug will compete with Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro, which entered the Indian market in March this year.

Novo Nordisk India Managing Director Vikrant Shrotriya said the company aims to provide patients with an innovative and accessible therapy for type 2 diabetes that also offers weight management and long-term heart and kidney protection.

“We are very judicious in terms of pricing in India. It really remains very competitive, internally and externally as well, to offer at a price like this,” Shrotriya told PTI when asked how Ozempic’s pricing in India compares with other global markets.

“I would say that it still comes under the affordability zone of the pricing, which is at a range for countries similar to India,” he added.

Shrotriya said Novo Nordisk is marketing Ozempic purely as a treatment for type 2 diabetes in India. “We applied for type 2 diabetes. We got (approval from the drug regulator in India) for it,” he said.

On distribution, Shrotriya said Novo Nordisk will independently market Ozempic across the country. The company’s partnership with Emcure Pharma will continue only for its weight-loss medicine Poviztra, a semaglutide injection of 2.4 mg, which is the second brand of Wegovy in India.

Asked about the market opportunity for Ozempic, Shrotriya said it was difficult to estimate demand, noting that globally, demand for the drug has exceeded supply.

He said the delayed launch in India was partly to ensure uninterrupted supply, adding that Ozempic injections would be imported from Denmark, where they are manufactured. “We remain very agile and very flexible in terms of our supply chain to service India,” he said.

With the patent for injectable semaglutide set to expire next year, Shrotriya said the company is prepared for increased competition as generic players enter the market, and remains confident that product quality and brand equity will drive patient preference.

Ozempic (injectable semaglutide) is indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise for adults living with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus and is administered once a week.

Citing World Health Organisation estimates for 2023–24, the company said India has 101 million people living with diabetes, accounting for roughly 11.4 per cent of its population, making it the second-largest diabetes-affected population globally after China.

India also has 136 million individuals with prediabetes and 254 million people living with generalised obesity, highlighting what the company described as a growing health challenge that requires effective, evidence-based therapies.