By Rishika Sadam and Kashish Tandon

HYDERABAD (Reuters) -Sales of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and U.S. rival Eli Lilly's Mounjaro in India doubled in July from a month earlier, data from research firm Pharmarack showed on Thursday.

Demand for the blockbuster anti-obesity drugs, which help control blood sugar and slow digestion, has been on an upswing in the world's most populous nation.

Sales of Wegovy, launched locally in June, more than doubled to 5,000 units or 70 million rupees ($798,230) in July, the data showed.

Mounjaro sales also doubled month-on-month to 157,000 units or 470 million rupees.

"Though Wegovy has a strong prescriber base because of Rybelsus, substantial promotion may be needed to reach the Mounjaro patient base for the injectable market," Pharmarack's Vice President (Commercial) Sheetal Sapale said in a statement.

In India, Novo has been selling oral semaglutide pills under the brand name Rybelsus since 2022 for type 2 diabetes.

Mounjaro's sales have soared 15 times since March, when the drug was launched in India.

($1 = 87.6790 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Rishika Sadam and Kashish Tandon; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)