Cheaper Weight Loss Drugs from India Likely After Patent Expires on Friday

What Happened?

The patent in India for the popular weight loss drug semaglutide expires on Friday, and the expiration will likely trigger a new wave of cheap, generic versions of the drug available for patients in India and around the world. Because the patent is expiring, pharmaceutical companies will then be legally permitted to produce or manufacture copies of semaglutide for production. 

In previous instances where patents for drugs expired in India, within months, dozens of generic versions of the medications appeared on the market, and in some cases, within the first year hundreds of cheap copies were for sale in India and around the world.

Why it Matters

Semaglutide has become the world’s most popular weight loss drug. In 2025, in the United States, an estimated one out of every eight people in the country was taking the medication.

Those numbers are likely to increase this year due to the approval in the United States of a pill form of the drug, which can be swallowed instead of injected, making taking the medication easier for patients. The mass production of generic versions of semaglutide will likely lower prices, leading to even more people taking the drug globally.

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While generic versions of semaglutide will probably lower prescription costs, they could also increase the risk due to the increasing number of companies manufacturing the copies. With so many copies on the market, counterfeits will likely also increase, which can pose health risks to consumers.

That’s because they have not been tested or evaluated by any independent or government agencies. For American consumers, it is recommended that patients look for medications that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in order to minimize risks. 

According to recent surveys, nearly half the adult population in the United States meet the clinical definition of obesity, which means there are still tens of millions of potential patients for semaglutide who are not yet taking the medication.

Obesity is linked to a number of chronic health problems, including diabetes and heart disease, and by reducing the number of people who are obese, semaglutide could help those people avoid chronic illnesses. It could also help bring down health care costs for the entire country by reducing the number of people who need expensive treatments for ailments connected to obesity. 

How it Affects You

For companies producing semaglutide, the market continues to expand as the drug becomes more affordable and appears in different forms, including the pill, which is now available in the United States.

Patients continue to see results from taking semaglutide, and though side effects are common, most are not serious enough to warrant discontinuing the drug. The expiration of the patent for semaglutide in India will likely increase the use of the drug globally in 2026 as new generic versions enter the market.

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