India Gets First Weekly Insulin Shot as Novo Nordisk Launches Awiqli

Novo Nordisk India on Thursday announced the launch in India of Awiqli (insulin icodec), the world's first weekly once-basal insulin for adults with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The product reduces the insulin regimen from once-daily to once-weekly - or 365 shots to 52.

The company describes this as a fundamental reimagining of how insulin fits into people's lives rather than an incremental improvement.

In the global ONWARDS-1 clinical programme, Awiqli demonstrated superior HbA1c reduction and increased Time in Range compared with once-daily glargine U100.

More people with Type 2 diabetes achieved an HbA1c level below 7% without hypoglycaemia, while the significant improvement in Time in Range provided patients with better glucose control throughout the day.

Vikrant Shrotriya, Managing Director, Novo Nordisk India, said the launch of Awiqli marks a defining moment for diabetes care in India.

How can Awiqli once-weekly insulin improve diabetes management?

He noted that Novo Nordisk has spent more than a century working to make insulin therapy simpler, safer and more accessible, adding that once-weekly dosing had long been an aspiration for the diabetes care community.

According to him, Awiqli has the potential to reduce the psychological and physical barriers associated with insulin initiation and help more people achieve better diabetes control and an improved quality of life.

Dr S K Wangnoo, Senior Consultant Endocrinologist and Diabetologist at the Apollo Centre for Obesity, Diabetes & Endocrinology (ACODE), Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi, said insulin remains the cornerstone of diabetes management for many patients, but delayed initiation and poor adherence continue to affect treatment outcomes.

He said innovations that simplify treatment could encourage patients to start insulin earlier and enable more productive conversations between doctors and patients about timely diabetes management.

The launch comes at a time when India is facing one of the world's largest diabetes burdens. More than 101 million people in the country are living with diabetes, while another 136 million have prediabetes, placing them at high risk of developing the disease.

The National Family Health Survey-6 (2023-24) also reported a sharp rise in blood sugar levels across both urban and rural India.

According to the survey, 20.9% of men aged 15 years and above have high blood sugar levels or are taking diabetes medication, compared with 15.6% during NFHS-5 (2019-21).

Among women aged 15 years and above, the figure increased to 17.8% from 13.5% in the previous survey.

(With inputs from ANI)