Top line
Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk confirmed on Tuesday that its popular weight loss drug Wegovy has been approved for sale in China, a key win for the Danish firm that opens the door to a huge market, but Forbes said it will only be listed there after will be able to guarantee. supplies for those who already see it as a shortage that plagues the US market and elsewhere.
Wegovy has been approved for obesity in China, Novo Nordisk said.
Key facts
Novo said its successful injectable Wegovy was approved for “long-term weight management” in obese and overweight people in China who have at least one weight-related medical condition.
The company did not say when it plans to launch in China, potential pricing, or detail the volume of shipments it would devote to the world’s second-largest country.
Novo’s head of global media relations, Camilla Louise Lyngsby, declined to comment on Wego’s potential delivery volume or China launch date.
But Lyngsby said Novo would make an announcement about supplies in China “once we can provide continuity of care,” meaning it can provide access to the drug for people who have already started and are taking it.
Faced with stellar demand and plans to expand into more territories, the supply of smaller doses of Wego used by people starting treatment in the US has been severely limited for months, and at the time of writing, the lowest three of Wego’s five doses are listed as “restricted”. availability” on the Food and Drug Administration website due to “increasing demand”.
Given the focus on providing access to higher doses for those already using drugs, it is unclear whether Wego’s rollout in China will prolong or even worsen the shortage of lower starting doses in the US and elsewhere.
News Peg
Shares in Novo Nordisk rose 1.6% on Tuesday after the announcement in Copenhagen. The stellar success of Novo Wegovy and Ozempic’s GLP-1 treatments has propelled the company to a market capitalization of about $630 billion, up from about $300 billion at the start of 2023.
Tangent
Novo said Monday it will invest $4.1 billion to develop a new U.S. manufacturing facility in Clayton, North Carolina. The plant, which will join three other facilities in the area, will fill drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy into injection pens. Novo said the facility should be completed between 2027 and 2029 and will create around 1,000 new jobs. That figure is a significant portion of the $6.8 billion the Danish company said it plans to spend on manufacturing this year as it races to ramp up production of its wildly popular GLP-1 drug semaglutide, marketed as Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for obesity and cardiovascular disease . problems. Like GLP-1 competitor Eli Lilly, which makes tirsepatide — marketed as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight loss — Novo has sought to meet growing demand for the breakthrough drug, which is showing promise in a number of other areas, including sleep apnea, heart problems, kidney disease and Parkinson’s disease. Supplies have been limited or unavailable for months or years, particularly smaller initial doses for those starting treatment, and the firm acknowledges that this is unlikely to be rectified in the near future, although promising care will continue for those on the medication. The shortages have led to warnings of a growing number of counterfeit drugs or unauthorized formulations that could be dangerous. Together, the duo dominate the sector and look set to do so for the foreseeable future, despite an onslaught of competitors trying to get the drug to market and facing increasing pressure to ramp up production.
The main critics
Firms like Novo have also faced heavy criticism in the US from politicians like Bernie Sanders for the high prices of their products compared to other countries.
Can Novo Nordisk keep up with growing demand for Wegos?
“Novo Nordisk is ramping up capacity at a furious pace,” but “the main bottleneck for semaglutide right now is supply,” Rajesh Kumar, HSBC’s head of European Life Sciences and Healthcare Equity research, told Forbes. While Novo has historically managed Wego’s supply by limiting the supply of starter batches, Kumar said he believes the Danish company will “probably handle the increase in supply” going forward despite the increase in demand. “The company insists that it supplies diabetes indications, and the rise in obesity has subsequently been slower,” Kumar said. “I imagine the priority probably won’t change.
What to watch out for
A patent cliff is looming for Nova in China, much earlier than in many other regions, and generic versions of semaglutide are expected to start coming to market around 2026.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories making the headlines of the day. Text “Alert” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
Further reading