South African drugmaker Aspen Pharmacare said the rollout of its weight-loss drugs will help drive a 17% rise in earnings next year.
Aspen sells Mounjaro, the weight-loss drug made by US manufacturer Eli Lilly, in South Africa. It will begin offering its own generic drug, targeting local markets as well as South America and the Middle East, according to Reuters.
Demand from Africa currently accounts for only a fraction of the global weight-loss drug market that is expected to reach $100 billion by 2030, but obesity cases are rising and projected to double by 2050, causing public health concern. South Africa has become the main battleground on the continent between the leading providers of weight-loss drugs, with Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro up against Ozempic by Danish company Novo Nordisk.
