Zydus Launches Semaglutide Injection in an Innovative, Reusable Multi-Dose Pen Device in India

• The novel pen device will be available for patients in a prefilled cartridge administered using a patient-friendly reusable pen for which the company has exclusive rights
• The drug will be launched under the brand names – SEMAGLYN ^TM, MASHEMA ^TM and ALTERME ^TM

Zydus Lifesciences Limited (including its subsidiaries, hereafter referred to as “Zydus”), an innovation-led global lifesciences company, has launched Semaglutide Injection under the brand names – SEMAGLYN^TM, MASHEMA^TM and ALTERME^TM, upon patent expiry in India. The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) had earlier provided its approval for manufacturing and marketing Semaglutide injection for the treatment of both Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Obesity indications.¹

Unlike current treatment options, which often require patients to purchase multiple single-dose pens as they progressively titrate their dosage, Zydus offers an innovative reusable multi-dose novel pen device. This advancement will enable clinicians and patients to conveniently select and administer different dose strengths from a single pen, thereby improving adherence, enhancing convenience, and significantly lowering the overall therapy cost. Zydus’ Semaglutide injection will be available in a 15mg/3ml cartridge and will be manufactured at Zydus Biotech Park, Ahmedabad. The average monthly cost of the treatment will be approximately Rs. 2,200.

Diabetes and obesity are among India’s most serious health challenges today.² Treatments based on GLP-1 have the potential to play an important role in addressing this growing public health concern. According to the International Diabetes Federation, 8.9 crore adults in India are living with diabetes, which is 10.5 per cent of the country’s adult population. At the same time, obesity is rising rapidly across age groups. Among adults, obesity prevalence has increased by 91 per cent in women, from 12.6 per cent to 24.0 per cent, and by 146 per cent in men, from 9.3 per cent to 22.9 per cent. These trends point to a widening health crisis in the country.