Packages of the weight-loss drug Wegovy from the pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk lie on the gross sales counter in a Danish pharmacy.
Stefan Trumpf | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Novo Nordisk launched its Wegovy weight loss injection in the U.Ok. on Monday, advancing the drug’s rollout in Europe regardless of ongoing provide constraints.
The Danish pharmaceutical big stated that the weekly injection could be obtainable initially “by a managed and restricted launch,” with solely sure sufferers eligible to obtain the drug on the nation’s National Health Service.
To qualify for therapy, sufferers should be on the NHS’s weight administration service, have at the least one weight-related situation and have a physique mass index of 35, in accordance with recommendations outlined by the National Institute for Care and Excellence.
The drug may also be obtainable privately by a “registered healthcare skilled,” Novo Nordisk stated in a statement, with out including additional element.
The firm didn’t reply to a CNBC request for remark over the value of the drug.
In the U.S., Wegovy has a listing value of $1,350 for a month-to-month dose, whereas in Europe it retails for round 170 to 300 euros ($190-$330) per thirty days.
British insurance coverage firm Aviva, which gives personal medical health insurance to round 1.1 million Brits, on Monday stated that Wegovy wouldn’t be coated below its coverage, according to Reuters.
‘Closely monitoring’ provide points
Wegovy’s U.Ok. growth comes simply over a month after the drug launched in Germany — its third European market at the time, after Denmark and Norway.
Surging demand for the weight loss drug, in addition to a sequence of clinical studies which level to its wider health benefits, have shot the firm’s shares to report highs. On Friday, it briefly unseated French luxurious items behemoth LVMH to turn into Europe’s most beneficial firm.
Supply constraints proceed to weigh heavy on the drug’s rollout, with CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen telling a Reuters Newsmakers event final month that it might be “some years” earlier than the firm can fulfill all customers.
In the U.Ok., Novo Nordisk stated that “a proportion” of obtainable provide could be allotted particularly for NHS therapy, and that the firm would work with healthcare skilled to make sure that “sufferers with the highest unmet medical want” are prioritized.
“We are intently monitoring Wegovy demand and are working with regulators and suppliers to make sure folks residing with weight problems can have entry to and stay on therapy,” it added.
The firm has additionally restricted provisions in different markets. In May, it reduce the U.S. provide of starter doses to make sure continuity for current sufferers, whereas in Germany it suggested medical doctors to “prescribe responsibly,” limiting prescriptions to sufferers with medical wants.