A quick-growing weight-loss drug market in South Africa may quickly broaden throughout the continent, with Aspen Pharmacare concentrating on wider African approval for Mounjaro, a drug just like Ozempic.
In October The South African reported on how the brand new, cheaper weight-loss drug was able to undercut Ozempic, as Aspen celebrated receiving regulatory approval.
Now the South African pharmaceutical large plans to register the drug in a number of sub-Saharan nations as early as this 12 months.
Native demand for Mounjaro has taken off exponentially, serving to drive progress within the nation’s marketplace for weight-loss medication.
GLP-1 weight-loss medication mimic a hormone that suppresses urge for food.
Aspen’s gross sales racing previous R1bn
Aspen CEO Stephen Saad advised traders the drug is anticipated to generate greater than R1.3 billion in gross sales within the 12 months ending June.
“Will probably be the quickest model to succeed in a billion rand gross sales within the South African personal market,” Saad mentioned.
Mounjaro is manufactured by US drugmaker Eli Lilly and distributed in South Africa by Aspen. It has shortly captured a big share of the nation’s rising weight-loss drug market.
In response to Aspen, the native GLP-1 market has tripled in worth over the previous 18 months, reaching about R2.2 billion.
Mounjaro now accounts for greater than half of the market, helped by regulatory approval for power weight administration.
Ozempic rival eyes African enlargement
The surge in demand highlights the rising curiosity in weight-loss therapies throughout Africa, the place these medication stay comparatively scarce.
GLP-1 medicines – which embody Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro – have turn into a few of the most sought-after medication globally as weight problems charges rise.
South Africa’s market already options competitors from Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk, which produces Ozempic and Wegovy.
Aspen believes the area represents a largely untapped alternative for the quickly increasing class of medicines.
Globally, the marketplace for weight-loss medication is projected to succeed in $100 billion by 2030.
