PLI scheme for obesity, diabetes drugs likely by 2026: Report

Obesity and diabetes treatment is likely to get a boost with a possible production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme in the coming couple of years. 

According to Bloomberg that quoted Arunish Chawla, secretary with the Department of Pharmaceuticals, a PLI scheme for obesity and diabetes drugs is expected to be introduced in 2026. He said that this will help with the production of GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) drugs that are used in the treatment of type-2 diabetes and obesity. 

Indian pharma companies such as Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Lupin, Zydus Cadila, and Sun Pharma are already working on anti-obesity drugs. Some have already received permission from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to conduct clinical trials. 

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories has permission to conduct a bioequivalence study on semaglutide. Zydus Cadila is developing its own anti-obesity drug candidates. Sun Pharma is developing GL0034, a long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist for non-obese and obese adults without diabetes, which has shown promising results in Phase 1 studies. 

Popular GLP-1 drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, while going off the shelf like hot cakes globally, are yet to be available in India. They are not likely to be available soon, given the shortage in supply due to their immense popularity. 

​​"The introduction of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists (a class of medications utilised to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity), such as semaglutide (Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro/Zepbound), marks a significant advancement in obesity treatment. Novo Nordisk's Wegovy can achieve up to a 15 per cent reduction in body weight, while Eli Lilly's Mounjaro has shown even greater efficacy, exceeding a 20 per cent reduction in body weight during trials. These results are comparable to bariatric surgery," said Costanza Alciati, Pharma analyst at GlobalData. 

India has the third-largest number of obese people, after China and the US, as per a study in The Lancet. Another study by IMARC suggests that India’s obese population is around 8 crore. Indian players aim to develop and launch anti-obesity drugs in the country, a market expected to grow significantly in the coming years.

Moreover, according to GlobalData's ‘The State of the Biopharmaceutical Industry 2024 Edition (Mid-Year Update)’ 160 million people currently live with obesity across the seven major markets (US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, and Japan).