Aspen has received regulatory approval to sell its generic injectable semaglutide in South Africa and Brazil, after getting the green light in Canada in July. Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy. Novo's patent on semaglutide shots expired in many countries earlier this year, and the approvals put Aspen among the first generic entrants in some of the key markets opening up. It has said it's also seeking registration in about 20 more countries.
Diabetes on the label
Here, Aspen's version is registered for adults with type 2 diabetes, used alongside diet and exercise to improve blood sugar control. But doctors can prescribe it off label for weight management. Aspen expects sales to start in all three countries over the next few months. It'll be made in India at first, before production moves to Aspen's sterile facilities in South Africa and France.
Aspen hasn't announced a price. CFO Sean Capazorio told Business Day only that it would be below Novo Nordisk's brands, and told News24 that Aspen won't give further detail on pricing or growth expectations at this stage. For context, recent entrants to the local semaglutide market have come in about 15% to 19% cheaper than Ozempic, and CEO Stephen Saad has previously said he expects generic versions of these drugs to cost at least 50% less than current brands globally. Aspen won't be alone either. Ranbaxy's generic, Semagard, was approved here in July, followed in October by Novo Nordisk's own version, Semditu. Capazorio expects a crowded field, but says lower prices should grow the size of the market. Demand isn't the problem: Saad told Business Day in September that he'd never seen a category grow like this, here and globally.
A foot in both camps
Interestingly, Aspen already leads this market by distributing Eli Lilly's Mounjaro, which held a 53% share of a R2.8 billion local market in Aspen's year to June. Sales of Mounjaro helped lift Aspen's normalised headline earnings per share by 22% that year. So it now has a foot in both camps of the weight-loss drug market, and a cheaper semaglutide will test how well those two products sit side by side.
