Praveen Rao Akkinepally, Managing Director, AstraZeneca Pharma India

As biopharmaceutical drugmaker AstraZeneca waits in the wings with its oral GLP-1 weight loss and diabetes drug — India could be on its radar, depending on the data from its global Phase III trials, a top AZ executive said.

“We are certainly hoping that India will play a role and have representation, just as we have seen with our other trials,” Praveen Rao Akkinepally, Managing Director, AstraZeneca Pharma India, told businessline, as he completes a year at helm of the UK-based company in India.

Just weeks ago, AstraZeneca had said its lead oral GLP-1 drug had shown strong results in Phase IIb studies, and was now being taken into Phase III studies globally, he said, adding “they are just getting started, so we don’t have specific numbers yet on how it will play out in India… But the decision to move to Phase III shows our confidence in the molecule.”

Regulatory approvals

“We hope to bring it to India as soon as we have the right data and regulatory approvals,” the MD said, given the country’s high incidence of obesity and metabolic disorders. “We are clearly very interested… we have got a long legacy in treating cardiovascular and renal diseases, with several drugs already in this space in India... This oral GLP-1 portfolio would complement that, so it seems like a natural way for us to build on it,” he added.

On India’s participation in the trials, he said, “India has historically been part of many Phase III trials in our cardiovascular and renal portfolio, so we are hoping to be part of this. We just have to wait for guidance from global once the trial design and numbers are determined.”

The development comes even as India’s GLP-1 diabetes and weight loss products segment sees much activity from multinational Novo Nordisk (with products Ozempic and Wegovy) and Eli Lilly (with Mounjaro). Several generic drugmakers have also rolled out their less-expensive versions of injectable semaglutide after it went off patent in India, this March. (Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy.)

Competition hots up

The action now is in the global oral weight loss pill market. While Novo’s oral semaglutide pill (Rybelsus) for diabetes is available in India — competition hots up in the global oral weight loss pill segment between Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly and possibly AstraZeneca.

Akkinepally reiterated, “We are looking to bring our cardiovascular portfolio over, of which the oral GLP-1 will be a key part.... we need to let the trial play out, see the data and establish approval timelines. But looking at our track record, we are bringing our global portfolio to India, and we plan to do the same here.”

On being a late entrant to this dynamic segment, he said, “In our case, an oral GLP-1 will be one of the earlier options available as a pill. Even in a market like India, a pill format should certainly support broader access and convenience, which will play a major role.”

Looking to accelerate their programme, he said, “if you bring the right value proposition, which we believe we can, given the data seen so far and the fact that it will be an oral drug, it will make a significant impact. We are excited to see that impact in India.”

Published on June 19, 2026