Biocon climbs 3% on plans to file approvals for generic weight-loss drug

Biocon share price gained 2.5 per cent after reports suggested that the company is planning to file for generic versions of Novo Nordisk A/S's Ozempic and Wegovy

Biocon share price rose 2.5 per cent in trade on Wednesday, logging an intraday high at ₹371.5 per share on BSE. The buying on the counter came after reports suggested that the company plans to file for regulatory approvals of generic versions of Novo Nordisk A/S’s Ozempic and Wegovy.

 

Ozempic is primarily used for managing blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. Wegovy, on the other hand, is approved for long-term weight management in adults and adolescents with obesity or who are overweight and have weight-related health problems.

 

Biocon will start phase-3 trials for semaglutide in India “soon,” and plans to file for approval by the end of next year, Siddharth Mittal, managing director, Biocon said.  READ STOCK MARKET UPDATES TODAY LIVE 

At 12:08 PM, Biocon share price was trading 2.18 per cent higher at ₹370.25 per share on the BSE. In comparison, the BSE Sensex was trading down 0.19 per cent at 83,537.33. The company's market capitalisation stood at ₹49,501.08 crore. Its 52-week high was at ₹404.6 per share and 52-week low was at ₹290.8 per share. 

Novo launched Wegovy in India last month, following Eli Lilly & Co.’s Mounjaro entry, as those Western drugmakers seek to tap the country with the world’s third-largest obese population. Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro has a longer runway with patent protection, which doesn’t expire until at least 2030 in most countries.

 

Biocon is joining the leagues of the world’s largest generic drugmakers, which includes Sandoz Group AG, in eyeing the weight-loss drug market in Canada, where Novo is set to lose patent protection on semaglutide early next year.  

The company is expected to forfeit exclusive rights in many other markets from 2026, with patents in India expiring around April of next year. That patent expiration does not include the US, Europe or Japan.

 

The drugmaker also is looking to sell GLP-1 therapies in Latin American countries such as Brazil and Mexico, along with Asia-Pacific markets like Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and in its home base of India.