Govt Sets Guardrails for Promotion of Obesity Drugs

A major pharmaceutical phenomenon in recent times has been medications like Ozempic. First made for diabetes, their efficacy in addressing obesity soon became evident. It seemed to be the solution an overweight world had been waiting for decades. Just a regular series of injections and, for many, it has worked like magic in removing fat. A number of these medicines were launched in India in 2025. With the patent for one such molecule, semaglutide, termed a GLP-1 receptor agonist because of the hormone it targets, running out this month, Indian pharma companies are readying to unleash a wave of affordable generics.

On March 10, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) decided to temper the coming excitement with warnings and restrictions. Medicines cannot be advertised in India by law, but a number of pharma companies were doing, what they termed, anti-obesity awareness campaigns, a surrogate form of promotion to build up a market. This, the CDSCO has stated in an advisory, is prohibited. So also using other channels like social media influencers. It said, 'Further, any promotional activity carried out under the pretext of disease awareness, influencer engagement, corporate campaigns or similar activities that create brand recall/product visibility of the prescription product, shall also be treated as violations.'

These medications need prescriptions, which means their use must be mediated through a doctor. While the CDSCO does not spell it out, what such marketing does is to position it as a lifestyle drug for not just the medically obese but anyone with weight issues that can be fixed through behaviour modification. This is already happening in countries like the United States.

And yet that is probably how it will pan out in India too. It is not hard to get a prescription from a doctor here. Online services will open up to cater to it. And it would be fine if not for these medications being very new. They are safe but extensive long-term studies are still underway. Taking a medicine carries with it risk and the reason for a prescription is because the doctor feels the benefit to the patient outweighs the potential danger. One shouldn’t be surprised, within a year or two, to see an extraordinary number of Indians turning very thin