Drugmaker Aspen targets Mounjaro approval in sub-Saharan Africa this year

By Nqobile Dludla

JOHANNESBURG, March 4 (Reuters) - Aspen Pharmacare aims to unafraid sub‑Saharan African support for Eli Lilly's blockbuster weight‑loss cause Mounjaro ‌as aboriginal arsenic this year, its CEO said connected Wednesday, capitalising ‌on soaring determination request for obesity treatments.

South Africa-based Aspen’s propulsion to registry Mounjaro crossed the ​region signals its bid to go a cardinal manufacturing and organisation spouse for planetary drugmakers eyeing 1 of the past large untapped markets for GLP‑1 weight‑loss treatments.

GLP‑1 treatments are not yet wide disposable successful the continent, offering some ‌growth imaginable and a trial ⁠of however rapidly specified drugs tin scope lower‑income countries.

The registration successful South Africa "of the KwikPen (a pre-filled multi-injection device) gave ⁠us an accidental present to registry the merchandise crossed sub-Saharan Africa, and we expect registrations from arsenic aboriginal arsenic this calendar year," CEO Stephen Saad told ​investors a ​day aft reporting its earnings.

MOUNJARO DRIVING ​DEMAND FOR GLP-1 DRUGS

Mounjaro, launched ‌in South Africa precocious successful 2024, has driven surging request for weight-loss drugs, pushing the GLP-1 marketplace to astir 2.2 cardinal rand ($133.64 million) and inactive growing, Saad said.

The market's worth has tripled successful 18 months, with Mounjaro's stock much than doubling to 52% astatine the extremity of January from 21% ‌in the 4th ended April 2025, helped ​largely by regulatory support for chronic value ​management, Saad added.

He expects income ​of Mounjaro to beryllium implicit 1.3 cardinal rand ($78.97 million) successful ‌the twelvemonth done June.

"It volition beryllium ​the quickest marque ​to scope a cardinal rand income successful the South African backstage market," helium said.

In South Africa, the U.S. drugmaker Lilly competes with Denmark's ​Novo Nordisk, which makes ‌Wegovy and Ozempic and has indicated plans to grow into ​Africa pursuing its South Africa motorboat of Wegovy.

($1 = 16.4625 rand)

(Reporting by ​Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Bernadette Baum)