Sun Pharma eyes to launch obesity drug in five years: MD
Mumbai: Pharma major, Sun Pharmaceutical, is gearing up to introduce its experimental anti-obesity and type 2 diabetes medicine in the next four to five years, Dilip Shanghvi, Managing Director of the Company announced the ambitious plans on Friday.
With the weight-loss drug market projected to reach $150 billion globally by the end of the decade, several Indian pharmaceutical companies are racing to establish a foothold. Sun Pharma’s move follows the immense success of Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, whose weight-loss drugs, Wegovy and Zepbound, respectively, have seen surging demand, significantly boosting the valuation of both companies.
Sun Pharma's novel investigational drug, also known as Utreglutide (GL0034), belongs to a drug class called GLP-1 receptor agonists, which suppress appetite by mimicking gut hormones and have also been found to have medical benefits for conditions beyond type 2 diabetes and weight loss.
The active ingredients in Wegovy and Zepbound also belong to the same class of drugs.
Sun Pharma, which expects to conduct mid-stage trials for the drug this year, earlier said it demonstrated clinically meaningful weight loss and significant metabolic improvements in the first phase of trials.
According to Reuters, the company said last year, "The findings highlight GL0034's potential as a therapeutic option for individuals with obesity, providing not only weight loss but also improvements in key cardiometabolic biomarkers."
The company will focus on launching it in India as well as global markets, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Friday.
Sun Pharma said in August it would consider a partnership or licensing the product in large markets such as the U.S. and Europe for commercialization.
Generic drugmakers such as Dr Reddy's, Cipla, Lupin, are also developing their own generic versions of these drugs, the launch of which is subject to patent expiry of active ingredients in original drugs.
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