Indian pharma giant Cipla on Thursday announced an agreement with US pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, acquiring the rights to distribute its blockbuster weight-loss drug Mounjaro. The drug, which was launched in India in March, will be sold by Cipla under a different brand name, Yurpeak, across the country.

The partnership is significant, as it allows Eli Lilly’s weight-loss drug to leverage Cipla’s extensive distribution footprint — reaching beyond the traditional large metros where Mounjaro is currently available. The company has described the agreement as “strategic,” coming just months before the primary patent for Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide (Wegovy) — a rival to tirzepatide (Mounjaro) — is set to expire in India in March next year. This expiry could pave the way for the launch of gener

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