Aspen wins approval to market Lilly’s Mounjaro for weight loss in South Africa

South Africa

South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare (APNJ.J), opens new tab said on Monday it had secured regulatory approval to market Eli Lilly’s (LLY.N), opens new tab blockbuster diabetes and obesity drug, Mounjaro, for chronic weight management in the country.

The greenlight follows Aspen’s earlier approval and launch of the drug, chemically called tirzepatide, in South Africa last December as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes.

Aspen, a sales agent for Lilly, will launch Mounjaro for weight management in South Africa as an easy-to-use KwikPen injector device.

The company has been betting on Mounjaro’s imminent launch to compete against Novo Nordisk’s (NOVOb.CO), opens new tab rival product, Wegovy, which the Danish drugmaker had debuted in South Africa in August, eight months after Eli Lilly.

The approval by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority positions Aspen to tap into the booming weight-loss drug market, which is estimated to reach at least $100 billion by the end of the decade, as global demand for obesity treatments continues to soar.