New Delhi: World’s first once-a-week insulin, Icodec, by Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk, may be available in India in 2025, the company’s corporate vice-president and India managing director Vikrant Shrotriya told ThePrint in an interview. The insulin is nearing regulatory approval in the US and the European Union.
“Our company has been particular about bringing the latest innovations to India as quickly as possible and this crucial product is slated to be available in India as early as 2025,” said Shrotriya.
In its financial report this May, the company, which completed 100 years early 2023, had said that it was set to file for the drug’s regulatory approval in the US, EU and China.
Icodec has been hailed as a potential game-changer for diabetics who require insulin therapy as the current treatment regimen includes daily injection, or for some patients, even multiple injections per day.
The final results of the 52-week, phase-3 clinical trials for Icodec, conducted at 80 sites across nine countries, including India, to test its safety and efficacy, were published in The Lancet journal in May.
According to the study, in people with long-standing type 2 diabetes on a basal-bolus regimen (multiple injections a day), a once-a-week dose showed similar improvements in glycaemic control, compared to once-a-day insulin. Also, the findings showed that there were no significant safety concerns with the drug.
Type 1 diabetes is usually genetic and appears early in life, while Type 2 is associated with lifestyle and occurs over the years.
The arrival of Icodec may be crucial for a country like India, which is often referred to as the “diabetes capital of the world” and has a large number of people who need insulin.
A study by the Indian Council of Medical Research, published in The Lancet this year, had shown that there are 101 million diabetics in India — much higher than previously estimated.
Novo Nordisk is known as the insulin-maker of the world, producing 50 percent of the world’s insulin supplies, but also focuses on solutions for chronic diseases, mainly type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, obesity, haemophilia and growth disorders.
“While making insulin affordable and accessible is our strength, we are also looking to bring innovative products for diseases such as hemophilia, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cardio-vascular ailments, Alzheimer’s disease and sickle cell anemia,” Shrotriya added.
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Semaglutide in India
Shrotriya also said that injectable semaglutide, indicated as anti-obesity treatment under the brand names of Ozempic (treatment for diabetes that leads to weight loss) and Wegovy (for weight loss even in those without diabetes) in the US may be available in India in late-2025 or 2026.
Semaglutide is a GLP-1 (gut hormone that regulates appetite) analogue and has been a global hit since its approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) in 2017.
“There is huge demand for these drugs in the world,” Shrotriya said. “I can’t wait for its launch but the demand is such that we are committed that once we launch, there should not be any kind of shortage,” he added.
An oral version of semaglutide, under the brand name Rybelsus (by Novo Nordisk), is also available in India in 3mg, 7mg, and 14 mg formulations (tablets) and has been approved for type 2 diabetes.
“We realise that there is a general fear among people here about taking pricks every day or even once a week; that’s why we first launched oral semaglutide in India,” Shrotriya said.
“Nonetheless, when it comes to obesity treatment with a higher dosage of semaglutide, we are looking to bring the weekly solution in the country,” he said.
New therapeutic areas
Emphasising that there is hardly any clinical trial for new drugs in the pipeline that the company is not doing in India, Shrotriya said Novo Nordisk is currently conducting nearly 30 trials here.
“I am glad that we have got possible solutions, some of which are in early stages of development while others are in advanced stages,” he said.
Shrotriya added that he looks forward to the company “coming up with breakthrough innovations in these therapeutic areas like we have done in case of diabetes and obesity”.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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