Every week in the United States, around 25,000 individuals begin using the weight-loss medication Wegovy, according to the manufacturer's claim.
With over 19,500 people at Madison Square Garden, it's more than just a full house.
Five times the amount from December, Novo Nordisk reported on Thursday's earnings call that they're facing heavy demand for the medicine.
"The demand for Wegovy is tremendous," said Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk, to CNN. "Therefore, for the foreseeable future, we believe the demand is going to outweigh the supply, but we're gradually releasing more and more doses to the market."
The Danish pharmaceutical giant, which also produces Ozempic for type 2 diabetes, has been rationing the smallest doses per week for over a year to prevent the onset of a surplus for new patients. The idea behind this is to gradually increase the dosage over time to reduce unpleasant side effects like nausea.
Both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have been putting in efforts to fight against the current shortage in the treatment. They've been investing in purchasing and constructing more manufacturing plants to keep up with the demand. The shortages, coupled with complex insurance issues, have made these medications difficult to access.
Novo Nordisk possesses two active-ingredient-producing plants in the US and Denmark with semaglutide, a component in Wegovy and Ozempic. They're also constructing two additional plants in Denmark, producing the active substance of the medicines.
Jorgensen also explained that they've expanded the capacity for "fill-finish," the next step in the manufacturing process where the drugs are sealed into vials or pens, in existing facilities. To top it off, they acquired three new sites through a $16.5 billion purchase of a drug manufacturing company, Catalent.
"This is a massive expansion program," Jorgensen said. "There will be gradual new capacities coming into play over the coming months and years to cater to more patients than we can reach today."
Comparing this endeavor to the scramble for vaccine manufacturing during the Covid-19 pandemic, Jorgensen mentioned, "During the pandemic, we had to scale up manufacturing capacity for the vaccines, but that was dealing with two to three doses per person. Here, we're talking about weekly injections for many individuals, which indicates chronic treatment."
According to an Eli Lilly earnings call this week, they're optimistic about an increase in supply later this year.
"The demand for tirzepatide is incredibly high," said Anat Ashkenazi, Eli Lilly's CFO, referring to the active ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound. "Still, we sympathize with those experiencing delays or uncertainties in acquiring their medicines. Although we're tirelessly trying to increase the supply and expect a significant uptick in shipment volume in the second half of the year, the demand has surpassed even the increased supply."
All four GLP-1 receptor agonists, including Novo Nordisk's Ozempic, are primarily prescribed for Type-2 diabetes. However, doctors oftentimes prescribe them off-label for weight loss.
As per financial firm BMO Capital Markets' data, over 500,000 weekly prescriptions exist for the US alone, making Ozempic the most-prescribed drug from the group. Lilly's Mounjaro holds the second spot with approximately 300,000 weekly prescriptions. Both Mounjaro and Zepbound are approved for type 2 diabetes.
Wegovy was the first to garner FDA approval, in June 2021, followed by Mounjaro in May 2022 and Zepbound in November 2023.
Predictions indicate that the drugs are likely to be more prominent in weight loss than diabetes treatments, as more individuals fall into the latter category. Analyst Evan Seigerman, dedicated to tracking both Lilly and Novo Nordisk stocks, projects. $74 billion in revenue from diabetes treatment by 2030, and an impressive $104 billion from obesity by the same time.
Progress has been seen in insurance coverage for these weight loss medications, although Novo Nordisk's Jorgensen and Eli Lilly relayed it's still an ongoing process.
Approximately 50 million Americans have insurance coverage for Wegovy, said Jorgensen, reflecting an increase in Medicaid coverage.
In a significant clinical trial last year, Wegovy was found not only to aid in weight loss but also to prevent heart attacks, strokes, and heart-related deaths in individuals at higher cardiovascular risk. This finding could increase the demand for the drug even further and improve insurance coverage. The US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services declared that Medicare plans can now cover Wegovy for heart benefits.
Covering only around one million Americans out of the 50 millionwhose insurance would cover Wegovy, Jorgensen reported. This figure is roughly equivalent to the total number of people who have been prescribed Wegovy in the US, with fewer actually currently taking the drug. More than 40% of US adults are believed to be obese by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which equates to approximately 100 million people.
"Access through insurance coverage may not be as much of a challenge as the availability of the medicines themselves," Jorgensen explained.
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Source: edition.cnn.com
