Mounjaro, the blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss drug from Eli Lilly, has emerged as the biggest-selling brand in India’s rapidly expanding GLP-1 medicines market, underscoring the growing demand for newer treatments for diabetes and obesity.The GLP-1 segment grew 74 per cent in units in August, while its market value for the 12 months ended August reached Rs 2,333 crore, according to Pharmarack’s PharmaTrac data.The market is increasingly being driven by injectable medicines, which accounted for Rs 2,010 crore, or about 86 per cent, of the GLP-1 market in August 2026. A year earlier, injectable medicines were worth Rs 348 crore.The sharp shift followed the launch of injectable tirzepatide and semaglutide in 2025, after oral semaglutide had earlier dominated the segment.Tirzepatide accounted for Rs 1,456 crore, or 62 per cent, of the GLP-1 market, while semaglutide contributed Rs 782 crore, or 34 per cent. Dulaglutide and liraglutide accounted for 3 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.Also Read | Beyond the weight-loss injection: How this 44-year-old balances Mounjaro with diet, exercise and sleepGenerics bring more patients into treatmentThe rapid expansion has also been aided by the entry of generic versions, which have made the medicines more affordable and brought more patients into treatment.“Generics have just increased the size of the pie,” said Sheetal Sapale, Vice-President (Commercial), Pharmarack. She said patients who were eligible for the medicines but had earlier been unable to afford them were now starting treatment.Story continues below this adSapale said sales of the original brands had not fallen significantly after generics entered the market. Instead, the brands continued to grow steadily, with some companies also reducing prices to make their products more affordable.Patient growth begins to stabiliseThe initial increase in the number of patients using the medicines was particularly sharp in the months following the entry of generics. That growth, however, is now beginning to level off. “Whatever was the eligible patient base, they have got onboarded and probably there is no large pool of untapped patient base,” Sapale said, adding that the market is now expected to see “very steady and stable growth”.She also cautioned against equating India’s large obese population with the potential market for GLP-1 medicines. “Not all the people who are obese are the ones who are eligible to be on GLP-1,” she said.Mounjaro leads the marketThe shift in the market is particularly visible in the performance of Mounjaro, Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide brand, which remained the country’s top-selling brand both for the 12 months ended August and for August itself.Story continues below this adMounjaro recorded sales of Rs 1,256 crore in the 12 months ended August, registering 502 per cent growth in sales value and 89.4 per cent growth in units over the corresponding period.In August alone, the brand recorded sales of Rs 112 crore, with value growth of 34.1 per cent. Its unit growth during the month, however, was negative at 43.8 per cent.The Pharmarack data suggests that the GLP-1 market is moving towards a more stable phase after the initial surge following the entry of generic medicines. Tirzepatide continues to show an upward trend in sales value, although there has been a slight decline in units.The report suggests that changes in the use of different vial formats and patients moving to higher doses may be contributing to the divergence between value and unit trends.Story continues below this adSemaglutide injections gain groundSemaglutide injections have also continued to grow, although the report describes the market as moving towards a steadier trend. Demand for semaglutide tablets declined in August, which the report suggests may be linked to a growing preference for injections.Broader pharma market also growsThe growth was not limited to GLP-1 medicines. Several major categories recorded double-digit annual value growth. Cardiac medicines grew 15 per cent, anti-diabetic medicines 15.2 per cent, vitamins, minerals and nutrition products 11.1 per cent, respiratory medicines 11 per cent, neuro/CNS medicines 11.6 per cent and anti-cancer medicines 13.9 per cent.India’s pharmaceutical market as a whole recorded 10.7 per cent growth in value in August. However, the growth was driven more by prices and new products than by an increase in the volume of medicines sold. Volume growth was 1.1 per cent in August, while price growth contributed 6.1 per cent and new products 3.5 per cent, taking overall value growth to 10.7 per cent.Market growth shifts towards newer treatmentsFor the 12 months ended August, the Indian pharmaceutical market was valued at Rs 2,58,977 crore, with 10.4 per cent value growth and 1 per cent unit growth. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries remained the largest company in the market, followed by Cipla, Abbott and Mankind. The data suggests that while India’s pharmaceutical market continues to grow at a healthy pace, some of its strongest momentum is now concentrated in newer treatments such as GLP-1 medicines.