New Delhi: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has sounded a warning bell on the potential misuse and mis-prescription of weight-loss drugs, such as Wegovy and Mounjaro.
These GLP-1 medications, IMA national president Dilip Bhanushali told ET should only be prescribed by certified endocrinologists or diabetologists. IMA, the country’s largest organisation of modern medicine practitioners, will formally write to the health ministry and drug regulator to push for stricter prescription controls, Bhanushali said.
“IMA has shared its concerns among its members regarding this because we thought that this should be prescribed by certified endocrinologists or diabetologists.
It is a new drug, and we do not know its long-term complications,” said Bhanushali. “We plan to write to the government and the drug controller that this should not be available without proper prescription,” he added.
This comes at a time when several doctors are raising serious concerns about rampant misuse of both the recently launched weight loss drugs by cosmetologists, physiotherapists, and even ayurveda, and other non-modern medicine practitioners.
“There are many dermats, cosmetologists, homeopathy, ayurvedic, etc who are prescribing Mounjaro and Wegovy left, right and centre for weight loss because their patients want to look a bit more skinny – may be for Insta or social media or people who appear on screen or on camera.
There are a whole lot of people giving it randomly,” said Dr Geoffrey Vaz, dermatologist at Mumbai based Maven Esthetics.
Any registered medical practitioner – i.e. an MBBS or MD – can prescribe weight-loss or GLP-1 drugs under the existing legal framework. However, the lack of specification is raising concerns among the medical fraternity about misuse.
‘Easy Access’
“Even online chemists are selling Mounjaro. And you just need any prescription but there is no one to verify who has given that prescription,” he said.
As more people use the drug, the domestic weight-loss drug market is expected to expand to Rs 8,000-10,000 crore by the turn of the decade from about Rs 700 crore at present.
MBBS practitioners ET spoke with said they are prescribing the drugs but only in conjunction with diabetologists and general MD physicians.
In another recent advisory, the IMA recommended caution against misuse of over-the-counter ‘miracle’ anti-aging pills without proper medical advice.
“These (new weight loss) medicines are available anywhere and everywhere with almost every pharmacist. Many times prescriptions are generated paying Rs 100 or Rs 200 and there are no proper checks in place to verify,” said a senior doctor from a leading healthcare chain. “There is no legal binding about who can write the prescription – any medical practitioner can do it,” the doctor said.
Similar concerns over misuse and unsafe access have been previously seen globally too with the USFDA reporting hundreds of dosing errors leading to hospitalizations.
“In India, real side effects will be evident when a greater population starts taking the drug which will happen once the cheaper generics come into the market next year,” said Dr Neeraj Tulara, general medicines and infectious diseases specialist at LH Hiranandani Hospital at Powai, Mumbai.
“In ideal situation, it should be prescribed by diabetologists, general MD physician or endocrinologist so that they can properly counsel the patient about the effect, side effects, concurrent precautions that one needs to take so that you do not lose the efficacy on the patient and have any other complications,” he added.
As per analysts estimates around 100,000 people in the country are using these drugs and the figure is expected to surge to 1.2 million within two years. The number is projected to reach four million by 2029–30, aided by an expected drop of up to 80% in the price of semaglutide (Wegovy) after its patent expires in March 2026, paving the way for multiple Indian generics.
