Mounjaro becomes India's top-selling drug as tirzepatide holds 72% of GLP-1 market

Mounjaro, Eli Lilly's brand of tirzepatide, is India's best-selling drug brand, and tirzepatide accounted for 72% of the country's GLP-1 market by value in PharmaTrac data for August 2026 ^[2]. Mounjaro has been the No. 1 drug brand in India by value since October 2025 ^[2].

The overall Indian GLP-1 market, including tablets and injections, is now worth ₹2,333 crore, up from ₹153 crore in August 2022, an almost 15-fold increase in four years ^[1]. Injectable semaglutide accounted for 23% of that market, or ₹459 crore ^[2].

Two reports on the same data disagree on the shares. The Hindu BusinessLine, citing PharmaTrac, put tirzepatide at 62% of the market by value and semaglutide at 34% ^[1]. India Today put tirzepatide at 72% and injectable semaglutide at 23% ^[2]. Both give the ₹2,333 crore total, and the 72% figure in the second report does not match the ₹1,456 crore in tirzepatide sales it also cites. Neither outlet explained the difference.

Sales figures differ as well. BusinessLine reported Mounjaro sales of ₹1,256 crore in the 12 months ending August 2026, up 502% from the previous year, ahead of GSK's Augmentin at ₹957 crore and USV's Glycomet GP at ₹950 crore ^[1]. India Today reported ₹1,456 crore in tirzepatide sales through August ^[2]. BusinessLine said Mounjaro's unit growth was 89.4% year on year, while units sold in August fell 43.8% from July even as sales value rose 34.1% ^[1]. It said the gap suggested a greater contribution from higher-priced units, though stocking and distribution changes may also have played a role ^[1].

Cheaper competition arrived in March 2026, when the semaglutide patent expired in India and more than 40 generic versions launched ^[2]. Generic semaglutide prices fell as low as ₹1,290 a month, against ₹13,000 to ₹26,000 a month for Mounjaro ^[2]. Tirzepatide had launched in India in March 2025, giving it a head start before injectable semaglutide arrived as Wegovy and later Ozempic ^[2]. Instead of displacing the brand, the generics appear to have widened the market: monthly GLP-1 sales rose from about 20,000 units before generics to about 60,000 units after ^[2].

"Initially, when only the innovators were there in the market, sales were concentrated in the metros. As the generics were launched, sales also started happening in cities beyond the big ones," Sheetal Sapale, vice-president at PharmaTrac, told India Today ^[2]. More than 90% of GLP-1 sales in smaller towns are estimated to be generic products, and generics account for nearly 90% of units sold in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad ^[2]. Oral semaglutide, sold as Rybelsus, has lost ground; it was the preferred option when it launched in 2022 ^[1].

Doctors quoted by India Today tied Mounjaro's staying power to clinical positioning rather than price alone. "The choice is increasingly not simply about which drug is better, but about which treatment is best suited to the individual patient," said Dr Subhash Wangoo, a senior endocrinologist at Apollo Indraprastha Hospital in New Delhi ^[2]. He said weight reduction can reach about 25% with tirzepatide versus about 20% with semaglutide, depending on the patient, and put oral GLP-1 therapy at roughly 10% to 15% ^[2]. Mumbai diabetologist Dr Rajiv Kovil said many patients "are willing to pay a premium if they perceive that the therapy can help them achieve greater and faster weight loss" ^[2].

Why it matters for patients

The reports describe India's market only. They do not say whether the brand rankings, generic prices or market shares there affect US availability, US list prices or insurance coverage, and that has not been disclosed.

What they do show is a market splitting in two: lower-priced generic semaglutide widening access in smaller cities, and a premium brand holding its share on perceived differences in weight loss ^[1][2]. For patients weighing options, the doctors quoted describe the decision as individual, based on treatment goals and tolerability, rather than a single best drug ^[2].

Affordability remains a limit even after generics. Obesity treatment can run for months or years, and a lower-priced GLP-1 can still be a recurring expense ^[2]. So can the care around it: Dr Kovil noted that smaller Indian cities have fewer endocrinologists, obesity specialists and trained dietitians for dose adjustment and follow-up ^[2]. Oral GLP-1 options cost roughly ₹2,500 to ₹4,000 or more a month there, compared with ₹50 to ₹300 for older generic diabetes pills ^[2].

Even as the Indian market expands, the reports note that obesity is still often treated as a lifestyle matter in routine care, and that not every patient is a candidate for these medicines ^[2].