Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk on Wednesday launched Awiqli (insulin Icodec) in India. The company says it is the world’s first once-weekly basal insulin for adults with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. It claims the treatment can reduce the number of insulin injections from 365 a year to just 52.
According to Novo Nordisk, Awiqli is designed to reduce delays in starting insulin therapy in India. The company says fear of daily injections is one of the biggest reasons patients postpone insulin treatment, leading to an average delay of seven to nine years.
700 unit pack for ₹2611
The company has launched a 700-unit pack priced at ₹2,611, bringing the cost down to ₹3.73 per unit around 30-40% cheaper than existing daily basal insulin options.
A patient who requires 10 units of insulin a day will need 70 units a week, costing approximately ₹261 per week.
Over 100 million people in India are living with diabetes
More than 101 million people in India have diabetes, while an estimated 136 million are living with pre-diabetes. Over 900,000 people have type 1 diabetes, for whom insulin is the primary treatment. Around 10% of people with type 2 diabetes also require insulin therapy to manage their condition.
Weekly insulin to be delivered using a pre-filled pen device
- Vikrant Shrotriya, Managing Director of Novo Nordisk India, said Awiqli will be administered once a week using the company’s FlexTouch pre-filled pen. He said the weekly injection is expected to reduce the treatment burden, improve medication adherence and ease patients’ hesitation about starting insulin therapy.
- According to data from the ONWARDS-1 clinical programme, Awiqli was more effective than once-daily insulin glargine U100 at lowering HbA1c levels and keeping blood sugar within the target range.
- The company also said more people with type 2 diabetes achieved an HbA1c level below 7% without hypoglycaemia.
- Awiqli will be available in two variants: a 1 ml pen (700 units) priced at ₹2,611 and a 3 ml pen (2,100 units) priced at ₹7,833. A weekly dose of 70 units costs around ₹261, compared with ₹345–₹453 for the same amount of conventional daily basal insulin. The product is set to be launched in the Indian market next week.
Awiqli showed better blood sugar control
According to data from the ONWARDS-1 clinical programme, Awiqli performed better than daily insulin glargine U100 in reducing HbA1c levels and keeping blood sugar within the target range.
The company said a higher number of people with Type 2 diabetes were able to reduce their HbA1c level to below 7% without experiencing hypoglycaemia.
Novo Nordisk India Managing Director Vikrant Shrotriya described the launch as an important milestone in diabetes treatment in India. He said the once-weekly dose would reduce both the mental and physical burden on patients.
Around six million people in India are using insulin
Endocrinologist Dr S.K. Wangnoo of Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, said delays in starting insulin treatment and poor adherence remain major challenges. He said innovations that make treatment easier could encourage more patients to begin insulin therapy on time.
According to Novo Nordisk, around six million people in India are currently receiving insulin therapy, although at least twice that number may need it. Vikrant Shrotriya said that if the number of insulin users rises to nine million, it would be a major achievement for both patients and the company. He also said that one in every two insulin users in India currently uses a Novo Nordisk insulin brand.
