Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk has entered a new chapter in its 100-year historical past — because of its newfound success with two merchandise: Ozempic and Wegovy.
The medication are once-weekly injectables of a medicine known as semaglutide, prescribed for Type 2 diabetes and weight reduction. Their skyrocketing reputation has boosted Novo Nordisk to new heights.
Novo Nordisk’s share value has greater than quadrupled previously 5 years, making it Europe’s most valuable company by market cap.
“It’s clear that no person had anticipated that it might be taking off this shortly,” stated Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen in August. “We all alongside knew that weight problems was a critical power illness additionally when most others didn’t see it like that. So we knew we have been onto one thing large.”
In 2018, the primary full yr with Ozempic available on the market, Novo Nordisk’s internet gross sales have been 111.8 billion Danish krone, or $17.7 billion, utilizing a median trade charge on the time.
In the final three months of 2022, U.S. health-care suppliers wrote greater than 9 million prescriptions for Ozempic, Wegovy and different diabetes and weight problems medication, based on analytics agency Trilliant Health.
Ozempic accounted for greater than 65% of whole prescriptions as of the top of 2022.
And it was solely up from there: In the primary six months of 2023, gross sales of Ozempic and Wegovy rose by 58% and 363%, respectively.
“There has not been any efficiency close to what we have seen over the past yr or two,” stated Jared Holz, well being care sector specialist at Mizuho, including that semaglutide alone might be value as much as $300 billion yearly over time.
Semaglutide falls beneath a drug class known as GLP-1 agonists, which mimic GLP-1 receptors within the physique and produce extra insulin, serving to to decrease blood sugar ranges and lower urge for food.
Novo Nordisk’s remedies aren’t the one GLP-1 remedies obtainable, however they’re the one semaglutide merchandise presently on the U.S. market, because the company holds a patent till 2032.
Eli Lilly has developed its personal GLP-1 drug, tirzepatide, marketed as Mounjaro, and different firms, equivalent to Pfizer, are creating their very own injectables. Mounjaro isn’t but authorised by the Food and Drug Administration.
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