By Rishika Sadam and Kashish Tandon

HYDERABAD, June 24 (Reuters) - Danish drugmaker Novo

Nordisk launched its blockbuster weight-loss drug

Wegovy in the world's most populous nation, in a move that will

challenge rival Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) Mounjaro, which hit Indian

markets in March.

Wegovy, a once-a-week injection, will be in pharmacies by

the end of the month, Novo said, as the drug looked poised to

erode some of Lilly's market share. Mounjaro's sales jumped 60%

between April and May, industry experts said.

"One in three patients achieve 20% weight loss (with higher

dose of Wegovy)," Novo Nordisk India Managing Director Vikrant

Shrotriya said on Tuesday, adding the company had conducted late

stage trials of injectable semaglutide on 3,500 individuals in

India.

Wegovy, the brand name for semaglutide, helped people lose

on average 15% of their body weight, compared with nearly 23%

achieved by Mounjaro, combined with a healthy diet and exercise.

The market potential in India, a country of more than 1.4

billion people, is significant, with obesity and diabetes rates

steadily climbing.

Wegovy is available in 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg and 2.4

mg doses. The first three will be priced at 4,336 rupees

($50.71), the company said, with the monthly cost being 17,345

rupees ($201.38), in similar range to Lilly's Mounjaro.

Wegovy's 1.7 mg dose will be priced at 24,280 rupees

($281.90), and 2.4 mg at 26,015 rupees, he said.

Its rival Mounjaro, a once-weekly injection, is priced at

3,500 rupees ($40.64) for a 2.5 mg vial and 4,375 Indian rupees

($50.80) for a 5 mg vial, its lowest doses, the company said in

March. Its highest dose is 15 mg.

About 24% of women and nearly 23% of men aged 15 to 49 were

either overweight or obese, a government survey conducted

between 2019 and 2021 showed, up from 20.6% of women and 19% of

men in 2015-2016, according to data from a government survey.

Novo will face competition also from India's generic

drugmakers who are racing to produce cheaper copies of Wegovy to

grab a share of the global obesity drug market, estimated to be

worth $150 billion by the early 2030s.

Semaglutide will go off patent in India in 2026.

Novo's launch in India comes a month after then-CEO Lars

Fruergaard Jorgensen was ousted over concerns the company was

losing its first-mover advantage in the highly competitive

market. Novo is yet to name a replacement.

($1 = 86.1300 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Hyderabad and Kashish Tandon in

Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Anil D'Silva)