Novo Nordisk Plans to Cut US Price for Blockbuster Obesity Drug Wegovy

Product sales of Wegovy better than doubled inside the first quarter year-on-year, to 9.4 billion Danish crowns, or $1.3 billion, in response to the company’s earnings. Throughout the US, better than 25,000 new patients are starting the drug weekly, as compared with 5,000 to start out with of the yr, Knudsen talked about.

Knudsen and CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen talked about on the earnings title that they’re prioritizing accessibility to Wegovy, in its place of defending prices extreme — no matter very important demand at current costs. They didn’t specify how quite a bit Novo plans to cut Wegovy’s prices.

The Danish pharmaceutical maker, which moreover produces viral weight discount drug Ozempic, reported better-than-expected product sales of 65 billion Danish crowns, or $9.4 billion, inside the first quarter. The company moreover raised forecasts for 2024 and talked about it expects to product sales to develop between 19% and 27%.

The Wegovy worth cuts come as Novo faces rivals from US rival, Eli Lilly, which moreover posted earnings this week and reported a 26% improve in revenue inside the first quarter. Eli Lilly talked about that revenue growth was pushed by Ozempic and Wegovy opponents Mounjaro and Zepbound, which can be used to take care of Form 2 diabetes and weight issues, respectively.

Novo’s pricing for Ozempic and Wegovy has come beneath newest political scrutiny. Last week, US Senator Bernie Sanders launched an investigation wanting into “the outrageously extreme prices” Novo costs for every drugs inside the US, which he talked about had been quite a bit bigger than in numerous nations.

Wegovy and associated weight-loss drugs have develop to be a huge business. With the US grownup weight issues rate at spherical 40%, the drugs might probably be prescribed to fifteen million People inside the subsequent few years, per a 2023 Goldman Sachs report. The monetary establishment estimated that the anti-obesity drug market to grow to $100 billion by 2030.

The highly-coveted drugs are being snagged by celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Elon Musk, and Charles Barkley. They’re moreover gaining fame with individuals who discover themselves going out of their way to afford them.