When Eli Lilly launched Mounjaro in India in March 2025, the company likely expected decent uptake. What it got instead was a runaway blockbuster. In just eight months, Mounjaro became the highest-selling drug in the country. In October alone, sales crossed the Rs 100 crore mark, according to sales tracking agency Pharmarack. That top slot was traditionally occupied by GlaxoSmithKline's Augmentin, a low-cost antibiotic. Now, a weight-loss treatment priced between Rs 13,000 and Rs 25,000 per month had taken its place—a fundamental shift was afoot, one we were catching just in time.

It’s not just Mounjaro. Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic, already …