Eli Lilly’s CEO, David Ricks, made references to the firm’s obesity treatment that’s “making us famous around the world” and also highlighted the huge burden of chronic conditions such as diabetes in India.

Obesity, he noted, is perhaps the primary cause of all adult diseases in the developed world, leading to over 200 chronic conditions, not the least of which has a major impact in India as well, such as Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular risk.

“We can now address the underlying cause of these diseases in a very significant way with scalable medical innovation,” Ricks said.

India has an estimated 101m people living with diabetes, while 136m are pre-diabetic. Some physicians had previously estimated that about 67% of Type 2 diabetes patients in India have obesity, with the “thin- fat” Indian, which essentially refers to lower lean body mass but with higher subcutaneous fat, being a common phenomenon. The World Obesity Atlas 2023 has projected a “very high” annual increase in adult obesity in India at 5.2% from 2020–2035. Child obesity is projected to rise 9.1% during the same period.

These numbers certainly bode well for the potential debut of a new weight loss/diabetes treatment in India, with all eyes on pricing aspects and whether Lilly will opt for the established partnering route for products like tirzepatide.

The glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and GLP-1 receptor agonist was approved as Mounjaro for Type 2 diabetes in May 2022 and as Zepbound for obesity in November 2023. Some analysts have forecast peak annual sales for Zepbound of around $40bn in the mid-2030s – to put things in perspective that’s more than half of Sri Lanka’s 2022 gross domestic product in current prices.(Also see "Lilly’s Zepbound: The Biggest-Selling Drug In The World, Ever?" - Scrip, 15 November, 2023.)

India has been part of global studies for tirzepatide, per data from the Clinical Trial Registry of India. Companies like Cipla Limited that already have partnering ties with Lilly have indicated their intent to present their credentials when opportunities open up for the product in India.(Also see "Cipla Points To Large GLP-1 India Opportunity Amid Speculation On Lilly Deal" - Scrip, 29 January, 2024.) The Economic Times reported that Lilly aims to launch the diabetes/weight loss therapy next year subject to regulatory approval and the supply situation.

Ricks also noted that India is expected to surpass China in the number of people diagnosed with diabetes and further explained that obesity is a precondition disease to many metabolic conditions that afflict adults, diabetes included, along with hypertension, cardiovascular events and stroke. (Also see "Biopharma’s Winners And Losers Of 2023: Obesity Drugs Reshape Big Pharma" - Scrip, 21 December, 2023.)

“These will become preventable with medicines like that my company makes and I think embracing that innovation will be critical to the success and longevity of India's economy and its people,” he added.

Lilly CEO: Affordable Generics And IP Support 'Not Incompatible Ideas'

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