Torrent Pharmaceuticals has signed a licensing and supply agreement with Zydus Lifesciences to co-market a generic version of semaglutide in India, tightening the race in a high-value market for type 2 diabetes and obesity care. Under the pact, Torrent will market Zydus’ semaglutide formulation under a separate brand name, Sembolic, and will pay an undisclosed upfront licensing fee in return for semi exclusive marketing rights.
The agreement underscores how Indian drug makers are positioning themselves ahead of the expiry of Novo Nordisk’s patent on semaglutide on March 21, which will open the segment to multiple domestic players. Zydus has already signalled its intention to enter on day one with a 15 mg reusable pen marketed under the brands Semaglyn, Mashema, and Altreme, targeting both the country’s expanding diabetes population and the growing demand for medically supervised weight loss therapies.
Torrent’s latest move follows quickly on the heels of a similar deal it struck with Mumbai-based Lupin, announced just a day earlier. That supply agreement gives Torrent semi-exclusive rights to market Lupin’s semaglutide formulation under two brands, Semanext and Livaris, and also includes milestone payments tied to performance. Back-to-back partnerships with Zydus and Lupin signal Torrent’s intent to build a strong presence across competing semaglutide portfolios as the molecule shifts from a single innovator-led franchise to a crowded generic market.
Semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP 1) receptor agonist developed by Novo Nordisk, is indicated for type 2 diabetes and weight loss and has become one of the most closely watched drugs globally because of its dual metabolic and weight-reducing benefits. In India, the innovator currently sells semaglutide in oral form under the brand Rybelsus, which was launched in 2022 and now accounts for more than 70 per cent of the parent molecule’s Rs 445 crore moving annual turnover in the domestic market. The upcoming wave of generics is expected to challenge this dominance, potentially lowering treatment costs and expanding access but also intensifying competition on pricing, branding, and delivery formats.
Alongside Zydus, the first wave of semaglutide generics in India is expected to include launches from Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Alkem, NATCO, MSN, Mankind, and other manufacturers, according to industry assessments. With so many companies preparing to enter almost simultaneously, the market is likely to see a sharp increase in brand proliferation both in injectable pens and oral tablets, forcing differentiation on convenience, dosing, and physician outreach rather than novel clinical claims.
Torrent has also been building its own pipeline around semaglutide. Regulatory disclosures show the company has secured approval for its oral semaglutide tablets in strengths of 3 mg, 7 mg, and 14 mg for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. However, Torrent has yet to reveal the brand name, launch timeline, or detailed marketing strategy for these tablets, leaving open questions about how it will position its in-house product relative to Rybelsus and to the injectable brands it is co-marketing through supply agreements.
For Zydus, the tie-up with Torrent adds another large promotional partner to support its semaglutide rollout at a critical inflection point for the molecule. Semi-exclusive arrangements allow the originator of the generic formulation to maintain some control over market fragmentation while benefiting from the commercial reach of multiple companies in a therapy area where specialist and super-specialist prescribing drives volumes.
The rapid sequence of deals highlights the strategic importance of GLP 1 therapies in India as the burden of type 2 diabetes continues to rise and obesity management gains more clinical attention. As semaglutide moves off patent, the balance between affordability and sustainability will be closely watched by payers, physicians, and patients, with the behaviour of early entrants such as Torrent, Zydus, and Lupin likely to shape pricing benchmarks and access for years to come.
