Oct 13 (Reuters) - South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare

said on Monday it had secured regulatory approval to

market Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) blockbuster diabetes and obesity

drug, Mounjaro, for chronic weight management in the country.

The greenlight follows Aspen's earlier approval and launch

of the drug, chemically called tirzepatide, in South Africa last

December as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes.

Aspen, a sales agent for Lilly, will launch Mounjaro for

weight management in South Africa as an easy-to-use KwikPen

injector device.

The company has been betting on Mounjaro's imminent launch

to compete against Novo Nordisk's rival product,

Wegovy, which the Danish drugmaker had debuted in South Africa

in August, eight months after Eli Lilly ( LLY ).

The approval by the South African Health Products Regulatory

Authority positions Aspen to tap into the booming weight-loss

drug market, which is estimated to reach at least $100 billion

by the end of the decade, as global demand for obesity

treatments continues to soar.