The global fight between Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk for dominance in the red-hot weight-loss drug market is shifting to India, one of the fastest-growing pharmaceutical frontiers. As rising obesity and diabetes rates collide with expanding middle-class incomes,

Eli Lilly said on Thursday that India's drug regulator had approved the launch of pre-filled injector pens of its blockbuster weight-loss drug, Mounjaro, giving it more options to compete with Novo Nordisk's recently launched Wegovy.

India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization approved marketing of Eli Lilly & Co.’s Mounjaro in pen format for treatment of type-2 diabetes and obesity, the firm said in a statement Thursday.