Abbott India Partners with Novo Nordisk to Market Semaglutide Under Brand Name Extensior

Abbott India Ltd has partnered with Novo Nordisk to market a new brand of semaglutide in India, the diabetes drug behind blockbuster weight-loss therapy Ozempic, amid rising demand for advanced metabolic treatments.

In a regulatory filing on Friday, February 27, Abbott India said it will commercialise the drug under the brand name Extensior in India. The launch is expected soon, although no specific timeline or financial details of the partnership were disclosed.

Semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, has demonstrated benefits including HbA1c reduction, weight loss, and lower cardiovascular and kidney risk in people with type 2 diabetes. Its weight-loss effects have drawn global attention, including social media traction and legal scrutiny over alleged misuse. Novo Nordisk has also faced patent disputes with rival drugmakers over semaglutide in separate court cases.

The managing director described the therapy as "one of the most significant scientific advancements in diabetes care" in recent decades, adding that it has reshaped the management of type 2 diabetes.

Semaglutide was added to the World Health Organization's Essential Medicines List in 2025. The therapy has been available globally for nearly a decade, with over 49 million patient-years of use across indications.

The managing director said the brand would be commercialised in line with the company's commitment to expand access to evidence-based therapies, particularly as India remains one of the fastest-growing diabetes populations globally. The company noted that over 100 million people in India live with diabetes, a number projected to rise further in the coming decades.

The drug is marketed under well-known brand names such as Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy, and is available in both injectable and oral formulations, depending on the indication. In patients with type 2 diabetes, semaglutide has demonstrated strong reductions in HbA1c levels and a lowered risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke.

According to market research, the global semaglutide market is expected to reach US$ 61.7 billion by 2033, up from US$ 27.15 billion in 2024, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 9.55% from 2025 to 2033.

In May 2025, Novo Nordisk reported that the U.S. FDA accepted its New Drug Application for a once-daily oral 25 mg formulation of Wegovy for chronic weight management in adults with obesity or overweight and related conditions. If approved, this would mark the first oral GLP-1 therapy for this indication.

In 2022, an estimated 2.5 billion adults worldwide were overweight, with more than 890 million classified as obese. This means roughly 43% of the global adult population was overweight, a dramatic increase from 25% in 1990.

Shares of Abbott India closed at ₹26,540, up 0.70% for the day.