Mounjaro-maker Eli Lilly LLY.N wants to turn India into a hub for its global supply chain, a senior executive at the U.S. drugmaker said, as part of its previously committed $1 billion investment to contract manufacturing in the country.

Sales of the blockbuster weight-loss drug doubled within months of its launch in the South Asian country and became its top-selling medicine by value, underscoring the growing popularity of obesity treatments in a country projected to have the world's second-largest obese population by 2050.

The company, which does not currently operate its own manufacturing facility in India, plans to export locally produced drugs to markets across the world as part of its broader supply network, drawing on the country's robust contract manufacturing setup.

"We are actually looking at India to be a hub, part of our global supply chain, and therefore supplying the world," Winselow Tucker, Lilly India's president, told Reuters on the sidelines of the BioAsia conference in Hyderabad.

"We will continue to look at that (investment) and scale that over time," Tucker said, declining to name contract manufacturers or discuss plans for a dedicated plant.

The company also plans to bring additional products to India, including its Alzheimer's drug donanemab and potential future obesity treatments such as its experimental oral weight-loss drug orforglipron, pending regulatory approvals, Tucker said.

PRICE RACE

In India, Lilly competes with Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO, which makes Wegovy.

The world's most populous nation is set for a weight-loss drug boom this year as local firms race to launch cheaper, generic versions of Wegovy after Novo's patent on semaglutide expires in India next month.

Novo cut Wegovy's price by up to 37% last year to defend market share.

Tucker dismissed concerns about Mounjaro facing similar pressure, saying the drug's composition offered superior efficacy and would keep it competitive.

"We have priced it (Mounjaro) for value, and we believe it is priced appropriately," Tucker said.

Lilly is instead focused on boosting digital and social media campaigns to raise obesity awareness and expand Mounjaro's reach in smaller Indian cities. It has widened its distribution beyond major metros through partnerships, such as with Indian drugmaker Cipla CIPL.NS and with digital health platforms Tata 1MG, Practo and Apollo.

-Reporting by Kashish Tandon and Rishika Sadam in Hyderabad; Editing by Dhanya Skariachan and Janane Venkatraman/Reuters