New Delhi: One injection a week instead of one every day. Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk has launched Awiqli, or insulin icodec, in India -- the world's first once-weekly basal insulin-cutting the annual injection count for diabetes patients from 365 to just 52. Approved for adults with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and delivered through a pen device called FlexTouch, the launch makes India the sixth market globally to get the therapy. It's aimed squarely at the single biggest reason patients delay insulin: the fear of daily injections. The injections will be manufactured in Denmark and the Danish drugmaker will import it to India.

Affordability is central to Novo Nordisk's India strategy. The company has drawn on its experience pricing semaglutide in India and has applied similar lessons to Awiqli.

The 1 ml Awiqli FlexTouch pen, containing 700 units of insulin, is priced at Rs 2,611, while the larger 3 ml pen, with 2,100 units, will cost Rs 7,833. At an indicative weekly dose of 70 units, that works out to roughly Rs 261-263 a week for a patient.

The combination of fewer injections, competitive pricing and Novo Nordisk's distribution reach, built in partnership with Abbott, could turn Awiqli into a high-volume product.

Novo Nordisk's Awiqli is not a like-for-like swap with existing insulins, it is far more concentrated, which changes how it behaves in the body.

Endocrinologists says that the shift from up to seven injections a week to just one addresses three concerns simultaneously, convenience, effectiveness and safety. On convenience, they noted there is no longer a need for a daily jab.