(MENAFN- Live Mint) US drugmaker Eli Lilly has struck a deal with domestic drug giant Cipla Ltd to widen the reach of its blockbuster weight loss drug tirzepatide, doubling down on India's booming market ahead of an impending wave of anti-obesity generics.

Eli Lilly, which already sells its weight loss drug in India under the Mounjaro brand, will supply the drug to Cipla, which will promote and retail it under a second brand name, Yurpeak. Both drugs will cost the same.

“This strategic agreement aims to expand the availability of tirzepatide by enabling broader access across the country beyond cities where Lilly already has an established presence,” the two companies said in a joint release on Thursday.

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The idea of roping in Cipla is to penetrate markets which are currently beyond Eli Lilly's reach. The partnership also marks Cipla's entry into the fast-growing weight loss drug market in India. India's weight-loss drug market is projected to grow rapidly, with over 254 million people living with obesity and more than 100 million adults with diabetes.

Mounjaro now starts at ₹14,000 a month for the 2.5 mg dose, going up to ₹27,500 for the 15 mg dose. Like Mounjaro, Yurpeak will be available as a multi-dose prefilled pen. Each pen contains four fixed doses, administered once weekly. The pen will be available in six dose strengths: 2.5 mg, 5 mg, 7.5 mg, 10 mg, 12.5 mg, or 15 mg.

Weight loss opportunity

Mounjaro, which entered India as recently as March, shot up to become the country's second-biggest selling drug in September, registering ₹80 crore sales during the month. Overall, the drug has reported sales worth ₹233 crore until September.

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Tirzepatide is a prescription-based dual agonist of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptors, used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, and chronic weight management in overweight and obese adults with at least one weight-related comorbidity. A person with body mass index of at least 27 is considered overweight, and at least 30 is termed obsese.

GLP-1 drugs have gained global popularity in fighting obesity. While Mounjaro was the first anti-obesity drug to be launched in India, it was soon followed by competitor Novo Nordisk's drug Wegovy (semaglutide) in July.

India has become a key battleground for Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, with both companies racing to capture a lucrative market before generics enter. Semaglutide is set to lose its patent in the country in March 2026, which will allow a wave of cheaper generics to flood the market. Large Indian pharma companies like Cipla, Dr Reddy's and Sun Pharma have indicated plans to launch their own copycat versions of the drug next year.

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The market for anti-obesity drugs, which was worth about ₹600 crore as of July 2025, could grow to ₹2,000-3,000 crore by FY27, according to Shrikant Akolkar, pharma research analyst at Nuvama.

Cipla chief executive officer Umang Vohra, during a post-earnings interaction with reporters in July, indicated that the company plans to commercialize semaglutide on its own, as well as with partners.

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