 "Winselow Tucker India president and general manager, Eli Lilly")
With more than 100 million in India living with diabetes and obesity, Eli Lilly sees the country emerging as one of its most important global markets. In a video interview with Sohini Das, newly appointed Eli Lilly India President and General Manager Winselow Tucker outlines what is driving anti-obesity/anti-diabetes medicine Mounjaro’s early success, how Lilly is preparing for a wave of semaglutide generics, and why the company is committing over $1 billion to expand in India. Edited excerpts.
What have been the crucial factors behind anti-obesity/anti-diabetes medicine Mounjaro’s success?
Mounjaro has had a strong entry in India, and several factors have contributed to it. Being the first with a differentiated glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide/glucagon-like peptide-1 (GIP/GLP-1) product created an advantage. Tirzepatide (a Mounjaro ingredient) is the first and only therapy that targets two key incretin hormone receptors — GIP and GLP-1 — making it distinct from existing treatments. Its efficacy has also been a major driver. In obesity, a trial showed a 20.2 per cent weight reduction using tirzepatide compared to 13.7 per cent with semaglutide. In type-2 diabetes, tirzepatide demonstrated HbA1c reduction of 2.46 percentage points and weight reduction of up to 12.4 kg, compared with 1.86 percentage points and 6.2 kg, respectively, for semaglutide 1 mg. These results underline statistically superior outcomes in both glycemic control and weight reduction for adults with type-2 diabetes.
Our early launch, a strong focus on physician education, and disease-awareness partnerships have supported adoption. Collaboration with Apollo Clinic, Apollo HealthCo (Apollo 24|7), the Association of Physicians of India (API), and Tata 1MG have helped build a more robust obesity-care ecosystem in India. Our recent partnership with Cipla to expand reach has further strengthened access and contributed to the momentum we see today.
With semaglutide expiry nearing and the first wave of generics expected by March, do you expect patients to shift to generic drugs?
Tirzepatide has been received well for its clinical profile, efficacy, and value. We believe it brings strong benefits to individuals, the health care system, and health care providers. Generics will enter the market, and we welcome them — they will serve part of the unmet need and expand treatment access. We remain confident about the value proposition and differentiation of tirzepatide.
It is important to note that tirzepatide is a GIP/GLP-1 product with a distinct efficacy and safety profile, while the generics entering the market are semaglutide generics. But generics of semaglutide are not generics of tirzepatide. Tirzepatide’s differentiated profile, growing awareness, continued disease-state education, strategic partnerships, and our broader cardiometabolic pipeline will position us strongly.
You have announced a $1 billion investment in India to boost manufacturing and supply through local drugmakers. You are setting up a manufacturing and quality facility in Hyderabad. Will production in India be used for global supply?
Yes. Lilly’s announcement of more than $1 billion in investment over the next several years reflects a long-term strategic commitment to India. The investment focuses on scaling up contract manufacturing and establishing a manufacturing and quality technical hub in the country. India offers a strong pharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem, deep scientific expertise, and a highly skilled workforce. Given our longstanding presence and trusted collaboration, this is the right time to expand manufacturing and supply capabilities to meet growing global demand for Lilly’s medicines. The move also aligns with India’s health care expansion and supports the Make in India initiative.
Medicines manufactured in India through this contract agreement will be exported.
Our Bengaluru site plays a key role in advancing Lilly’s global mission by streamlining clinical trials and drug development. It also functions as a strategic hub for business insights, market research, learning services, and the global content hub, supporting major product launches across the American and other markets abroad.
Our Hyderabad site, inaugurated in August this year, is poised to be a transformative part of our global strategy. By leveraging automation, artificial intelligence, software product engineering, and cloud computing, this facility will deliver advanced solutions to strengthen our global operations.
We have invested in supply chains to ensure Mounjaro and products that will come in future are available. The Hyderabad contract manufacturing will be part of our global supply chain — not only India’s — solidifying India’s position as a strategic hub.
Separately, as part of our commercial operations — distinct from the $1 billion investment — we are planning to launch Orforglipron and Donanemab (for Alzheimer’s disease) in India, subject to local regulatory approvals.
What are your plans for oral GLP-1 orforglipron? Will it target diabetes, while injectable GLP-1s focus on obesity?
Orforglipron is an oral GLP-1 that is not yet approved. If approved, we hope to bring it to India. Some patients prefer oral medication over injectables.
What are other products beyond the GLP-1 class in your pipeline for India?
Beyond GLP-1s, we have 11 medicines in clinical trials across a wide range of cardiometabolic diseases. Our late-stage incretin portfolio includes multiple mechanism-of-action approaches, such as the tri-agonist retatrutide, and the oral GLP-1 orforglipron. Retatrutide adds a glucagon receptor agonist to GIP and GLP-1 activity. Orforglipron, a non-peptide oral GLP-1 receptor agonist, is under regulatory review in the United States. Efsitora is our once-weekly basal insulin.
Which of these come to India will depend on unmet need and market requirements.
