USA — Danish pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk, has announced that it will limit the supply of starter doses of weight-loss medication Wegovy as the demand exceeds the company’s production capacity.
The company stated that this supply interruption will not affect the higher doses of the medicine that are being taken by people who are already using the drug.
The company’s statement was published on the Wegovy website. Novo Nordisk anticipates that many people will face difficulty in filling prescriptions for the lower initial doses through September.
Wegovy is one of the brand names for semaglutide, a medication that mimics the effects of the appetite-regulating hormone GLP-1.
The drug stimulates the release of insulin, which helps lower blood sugar, and slows down the passage of food through the gut.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved semaglutide as Ozempic in 2017 for diabetes, and as Wegovy in 2021 for weight loss.
However, the drug soon went into shortage due to production issues, and some supply problems continue to persist.
Novo Nordisk’s sales for obesity care skyrocketed 131% in the last quarter compared to Q1 2022, totaling 7.8 billion Danish Kroner, which is about US$1.15 billion.
This growth was driven by the uptake of Wegovy, the once-weekly injection for chronic weight management that was approved in June 2021.
People who take Wegovy for weight loss must continue to use it to maintain the effects because dropped pounds can return when they stop.
Interest in Wegovy is so high that Novo Nordisk has decided to pause some promotion of the drug to avoid stimulating further demand.
The lowest three doses of Wegovy, which are 0.25 milligrams, will have a limited supply due to the gradual dosage increase, designed to limit gastrointestinal side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Novo Nordisk stated that hundreds of thousands of people in the US are on Wegovy, and that an additional contract manufacturer has started production to help increase the supply.
Novo Nordisk recommends that people currently taking Wegovy contact their pharmacy about refills at least a week or two earlier than normal, and try multiple pharmacies if the first one doesn’t have the drug.
It also suggests that healthcare providers consider the potential supply disruptions when considering whether to start new patients on Wegovy.
Although Ozempic and Wegovy contain the same key ingredient, Novo Nordisk notes that the products are not interchangeable; they have different indications, dosages, prescribing information, and titration paces.
Novo Nordisk may soon face competition from Eli Lilly, which recently announced plans to spend a priority review voucher for a faster FDA review of tirzepatide, its GIP and GLP-1 rival, in obesity.
This could line up a potential approval as early as the end of this year. Eli Lilly revealed last week that Mounjaro, also known as tirzepatide, helped patients who are overweight or obese and have type 2 diabetes lose 15.7% of their body weight over 72 weeks in the SURMOUNT-2 trial.
According to the FDA, about 70% of American adults have obesity or overweight.
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