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NEW DELHI: Soaring demand for weight-loss therapies has brought Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro within striking distance of Indian pharma market’s long standing market leader GlaxoSmithKline’s Augmentin, an antibiotic. During September, Mounjaro recorded sales of Rs 80 crore, becoming the second-largest brand in the pharma retail market, latest data culled by TOI from market research firm Pharmatrac showed. As against this, Augmentin generated sales of Rs 85 crore during the month. Typically, top-selling medicines in the pharmaceutical market are either Augmentin or anti-diabetic therapy, Mixtard, which generates around Rs 75-80 crore in monthly sales. Launched in March this year, Mounjaro generated a cumulative revenue of Rs 233 crore by September.
Augmentin unit value lower than Mounjaro’sIndustry experts said the introduction of Mounjaro in a pre-filled device, KwikPen, in August has boosted sales.A key reason for the sales is the higher unit value of the drug even though the volumes are lower. Average monthly cost of Mounjaro for a patient starts from Rs 14,000 and goes up to Rs 27,000, depending on the prescription. In contrast, a strip of 10 tablets of Augmentin 625 Duo costs under Rs 200.Sales of Mounjaro’s rival, Wegovy, marketed by Novo Nordisk, have, however, plateaued around Rs 9 crore. The company is said to be cutting sales jobs, amid rising competition in the segment. Overall, the organised pharma retail market mopped up total sales of over Rs 20,000 crore in September, a growth of 7.3%, the latest data added. Market expansion was driven by new product introductions and price hikes, with all therapies reporting higher value.Augmentin and Glycomet GP continue to retain their leadership position at the MAT (moving annual total) level. Sept was also the month when the GST reduction from 18% to 5% was rolled out. A slight disturbance was seen in the distribution channel during the month, though there was no disruption at the retail level, experts said.
