New Delhi, March 23 -- Just when the weight-loss party was kicking into high gear, the drug regulator has made an entry.

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has asked states to ensure that endocrinologists - specialists in hormones and endocrine glands - alone can prescribe these medicines, two officials aware of the matter said. The directive, which draws attention to manufacturers' advice in this regard, follows a crackdown on certain "wellness centres" in Delhi and Gurugram, where unqualified individuals were found prescribing the drug.

Novo Nordisk's blockbuster semaglutide, famed for its weight-loss properties, went off-patent on Friday, triggering an avalanche of affordable copycats from Sun Pharmaceuticals, Zydus Lifesci...