India has biotech talent and know-how, but funding ecosystem lags: Lilly CEO

New Delhi: Eli Lilly, the world's biggest drugmaker by market cap, plans to maintain its substantial lead in the weight-loss market with new drugs that hold promise of exceeding the success of Mounjaro and Zepbound.

"We are the global leaders, and we plan to stay that way - the main way is through innovation," Eli Lilly chairman and CEO David A Ricks said in an interview. "Over the next four years, we could launch as many as four new products in this category. And in some cases, those competitors won't even be on the market yet."

Read full interview here: ‘India’s biotech ecosystem holds tremendous promise’: Eli Lilly CEO


Mounjaro and Zepbound together accounted for about $36 billion in sales last year, more than half the company's total, helping to boost its market value to $1.05 trillion, pitchforking the US company into the ranks of the tech giants, with Johnson & Johnson a distant second in pharmaceuticals.

India's innovative biotech system holds tremendous promise, especially in the backdrop of the declining trends in research productivity seen in Europe over the years, said Ricks, 59.

While research in India is relatively underdeveloped compared with the US, the country has great scientists and a talent base with knowhow in laboratory sciences and manufacturing capabilities, he said. However, Ricks pointed out that the funding environment for research has not been conducive and lacked the booming ecosystem that China has for discovery research, clinical trials and animal experiments. He added Eli Lilly is open to discussions with Indian biotechnology companies for partnerships.

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Following the success of Mounjaro in India, Ricks said the next steps would be to work with healthcare providers, the government and others to increase appropriate use of the product. Ricks was in India for the maiden Bharat Life Sciences Awards.