Novo Nordisk cuts prices of Ozempic by 36% and Wegovy by 48% in India.
Price cuts follow rising competition from low-cost generic semaglutide drugs.
Indian firms like Sun Pharma, Natco Pharma and Dr Reddy's Laboratories offer cheaper alternatives.
Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk has decided to cut the prices of its semaglutide brands Ozempic and Wegovy, the Economic Times reported today. The price for Ozempic has been cut by 36%, while Wegovy has been dropped at a much steeper rate of 48%.
Ozempic, developed to manage Type 2 diabetes originally, has gained immense popularity globally due to its ability to aid in weight management. It is available in the form of three dosages — 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, and 1 mg — in India with prices ranging between ₹8,800 and ₹11,175. After the price cut the prices of Ozempic will drop in the range of ₹5,660 to ₹9,100.
2 March 2026
Get the latest issue of Outlook Business
On the other hand, Wegovy is available in India in five dosages with prices ranging from approximately ₹11,634 to ₹16,400 per pre-filled pen after a 37% price cut as of late 2025. After the new price cuts, it will now cost in the range of ₹5,660 to ₹16,400.
The dropping of prices came at a time when many Indian drugmakers have introduced generic semaglutide reducing the cost of the drug at war footing as low as 90%.
Sun Pharma has launched Sematrinity, targeting diabetes, in two formulations priced between ₹3,000 and ₹5,200 per month, alongside Noveltreat for weight management, which comes in five dosage forms and is priced between ₹3,600 and ₹8,000 per month.
In a similar vein, Natco Pharma has introduced a pen-based version of its semaglutide generic, priced at ₹4,000 to ₹4,500 per month. Dr Reddy's Laboratories has also entered the space with an injectable pen version called Obeda, aimed exclusively at diabetes management and priced at ₹4,200 per month.
Notably, Novo Nordisk is set to lose patent protection on its blockbuster drugs and the patent expiry is expected to trigger the entry of multiple Indian pharmaceutical companies into the market with lower-cost versions of semaglutide, the active ingredient in both drugs.
Roughly one in every seven adults living with diabetes worldwide is based in India. The prevalence of the condition varies considerably across Indian states, with many of them recording total numbers of diabetic adults comparable to those seen in other large countries, said The Lancet.
India is also witnessing a rapid rise in overweight and obesity across all age groups. India is expected to be home to over 27mn children and adolescents (5 to 19 years) living with obesity by 2030, and will account for 11% of the global burden.
