Novo Nordisk to launch Wegovy in more countries in 'constrained' manner - CEO

[August 25, 2023]  By Maggie Fick and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Novo Nordisk plans to launch its hugely popular Wegovy weight-loss drug in more countries, albeit in a "constrained" manner as it will take years before it can meet global demand, CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen said on Friday.

The Danish company's injectable Wegovy is the first to market in a new class of highly effective weight-loss drugs. Used alongside changes to diet and exercise, Wegovy leads to an average weight loss of around 15%.

Since its launch in June 2021, the drug has been flying off the shelves in the United States, where more than 40% of the population is obese. But Novo has struggled to keep up with demand even as it has added production capacity.

Jorgensen told a Reuters Newsmaker event on Friday that the company was planning to launch the drug in more countries while at the same time "trying to constrain all these launches."

"This is a very unusual situation to be in for a pharmaceutical company because typically when you launch medicines, you have a relatively well defined population that you're going to serve," Jorgensen said.

"We're dealing with perhaps a billion patients around the world," he said, adding it would "take quite some years" before the company can satisfy the whole market.

Earlier this month, a late-stage, large-scale trial showed Wegovy also has a clear cardiovascular benefit, giving a boost to Novo's hopes of positioning it as more than a lifestyle drug.

CEO of Novo Nordisk Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen is seen during the 6th edition of the "Choose France" Summit at the Chateau de Versailles, outside Paris on May 15, 2023. LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

"We can see that the demand for the medicine is so strong, that we actually have to be more intentional in how we get through to the patients we would like to get through to and how we collaborate with healthcare systems," Jorgensen said.

Novo has also had problems with its contract manufacturer. Reuters reported in July that Catalent's factory in Brussels that fills Wegovy injection pens had repeatedly breached U.S. sterile-safety rules in recent years and staff had failed to perform required quality checks.

Jorgensen said he was confident Catalent would resolve its problems and that he hoped to have a third external facility filling and finishing the injection pens by 2024.

Last month, Novo launched Wegovy in Germany, its first big European market. Wegovy is also available in Norway and Denmark.

Jorgensen also said Novo would work with European healthcare systems to ensure less affluent, but often the most obese, people get access to Wegovy.

"In Europe, we would aim to seek reimbursement for those patients with the highest BMI, have co-morbidities, and perhaps also those less fortunate from a socio-economic point of view,"

(Reporting by Maggie Fick and Jacob Gronholt-PedersenEditing by Josephine Mason and Mark Potter)

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