Doctors say this could change how patients respond to insulin: a shot once a week, not every day

A lot of diabetes care isn’t just about the science — it’s about whether a patient actually agrees to start, and stays on, the treatment their doctor recommends. That’s the gap Novo Nordisk is hoping to close with Awiqli, the world’s first once-weekly basal insulin, which the company launched in India on July 9.

Dr S.K. Wangnoo, Senior Consultant Endocrinologist and Diabetologist at Apollo Centre for Obesity, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, framed the launch in terms clinicians deal with every day. “Insulin remains the cornerstone of diabetes management for many patients, yet delayed initiation and non-adherence continue to undermine outcomes in clinical practice,” he said, adding that “innovations that meaningfully simplify the treatment experience have the potential to change patient behaviour.”

Known generically as insulin icodec, Awiqli replaces the traditional daily basal insulin injection with a single weekly dose, cutting the injection count from 365 a year down to 52. Novo Nordisk says the drug is backed by the global ONWARDS Phase 3 clinical programme, involving more than 4,000 adults worldwide including participants from India, which showed a greater reduction in HbA1c and improved time in range compared with once-daily insulin glargine U100, with a comparable safety profile.

The launch carries particular weight in India, where more than 101 million people live with diabetes and another 136 million have prediabetes, according to the ICMR-INDIAB study cited by the company. Vikrant Shrotriya, Managing Director of Novo Nordisk India, said the company believes Awiqli will reduce the psychological and physical barriers to insulin initiation, priced at Rs 261 per week as India becomes the seventh global market to receive the therapy.