Blockbuster weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy could soon become a lot cheaper — and reach more people — thanks to Chinese and Indian pharmaceutical companies. A long queue of companies is developing copies of the complex biological drugs, and some are racing to create modified or improved versions to compete in the global market.
A month’s worth of semaglutide or tirzepatide injections can cost upwards of US$1,000. One way that Indian and Chinese pharmaceutical companies plan to slash that price is by developing biosimilars, cheaper versions of expensive brand-name drugs. Unlike generics, which are exact copies of chemically synthesized branded drugs, biosimilars very closely resemble their reference product and are derived from modified living organisms, such as yeast.
Companies are preparing to release biosimilar versions of GLP-1 drugs when patent protections lift in different markets. In China, the patent for liraglutide has already expired, and the one for semaglutide will expire in 2026 in India and China.
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How much the cost will drop “is yet to be seen”, says [Abhijit Zutshi, chief commercial officer of the pharmaceutical giant Biocon, headquartered in Bengaluru, India]. It could be cut in half, or be one-tenth the current price, he says. If drugs are cheaper, more people will use them, thus expanding demand, he adds. This, in turn, could have a “ripple effect” in which companies reduce the price of existing weight-loss drugs “in anticipation of the competition coming”.
