By Rishika Sadam

MUMBAI, March 1 (Reuters) - India's largest drugmaker by

revenue Sun Pharmaceutical is aiming to launch its

experimental anti-obesity and type 2 diabetes drug in the next

four to five years, Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi said on

Friday.

The company is among many Indian drugmakers looking to grab

a slice of the growing weight-loss drug market, which is

expected to reach $150 billion globally by the end of the

decade.

Sun Pharma's push into this category comes after companies

such as Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly ( LLY ) saw

skyrocketing demand for their weight-loss drugs Wegovy and

Zepbound, which boosted the drugmakers' valuations.

Sun Pharma's novel investigational drug, also known as

Utreglutide (GL0034), belongs to a drug class called GLP-1

receptor agonists, which suppress appetite by mimicking gut

hormones and have also been found to have medical benefits for

conditions beyond type 2 diabetes and weight loss.

The active ingredients in Wegovy and Zepbound also belong to

the same class of drugs.

Sun Pharma, which expects to conduct mid-stage trials for

the drug this year, earlier said it demonstrated clinically

meaningful weight loss and significant metabolic improvements in

the first phase of trials.

"The findings highlight GL0034's potential as a therapeutic

option for individuals with obesity, providing not only weight

loss but also improvements in key cardiometabolic biomarkers,"

it said last year.

The company will focus on launching it in India as well as

global markets, a source with knowledge of the matter said on

Friday.

Sun Pharma said in August it would consider a partnership or

licensing the product in large markets such as the U.S. and

Europe for commercialization.

Generic drugmakers such as Dr Reddy's, Cipla

and Lupin are also developing their own

generic versions of these drugs, the launch of which is subject

to patent expiry of active ingredients in original drugs.