Eli Lilly brings monthly Alzheimer's therapy donanemab to India at ₹91,688 per vial

Mumbai: Eli Lilly is positioning Alzheimer's disease as a key part of its long-term innovation pipeline alongside obesity and metabolic therapies, as the US drugmaker expands its specialty medicine push in India, said a senior company executive.

"Alzheimer's is part of our overall strategy and pipeline," Winselow Tucker, president and general manager, Eli Lilly and Company (India), told ET in an interview. "We do have a pipeline in neurodegenerative diseases."

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Eli Lilly Tuesday launched Lormalzi (donanemab), its once-monthly amyloid plaque-targeting therapy for early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease in India. The drug is expected to be available in the country this month through hospitals and pharmacies.

The treatment has been priced at ₹91,688 per 350 mg vial. It is administered as an intravenous infusion once every four weeks and follows a finite treatment period of up to 18 months. "It is given on a monthly basis... and that can continue up to 18 months. But there is a finite period," said Tucker. "We are also going to have an alternative access programme that will help patients to get more access."