Wegovy Already Brings 1.25 Billion Euros per Quarter to Novo Nordisk

Among the financial results for the first quarter of 2024 that Novo Nordisk recently presented there is a drug that shines very brightly. This is Wegovy, the long-awaited solution from the Danish multinational to combat diabetes and obesity.

Although it has arrived in Spanish pharmacies this May, it has been available in other countries around the world for more than a year. This is the case of the United States, Canada, Denmark, Germany or the Arab Emirates, where its sale has resulted in a significant injection of money for the company.

Only in the first three months of 2024, Wegovy has already moved 1.25 billion euros, 106% more than in the same period last year

Then the drug was still taking off and was not sold in key territories such as the United States , but even so between January and March 2023 it reaped more than 550 million euros. In the second half of 2023, Wegovy had already doubled its sales to 1.2 billion euros, a figure that it has managed to maintain for three quarters in a row.

The data calculated by this means show an increasing weight of this drug in the percentage of turnover of Novo Nordisk in the diabetes and obesity subsector . Although its sales are far from reaching those of Ozempic, its star drug, Wegovy already accounts for 15% of the multinational’s turnover in this type of product. “We are pleased with the sales growth in the first three months of 2024, driven by increased demand for our diabetes and obesity treatments,” said Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen , president and CEO of the company.

Ozempic and Wegovy: twin brothers

Until now, in the field of anti-obesity treatments, there was a drug that attracted attention: Ozempic. It is also made by Novo Nordisk and is very similar to Wegovy. In fact, they share an active ingredient: semaglutide . The main difference lies in the indications for each medication. In the case of Ozempic, it was originally indicated for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, although the effects it produced in reducing obesity made it a widely prescribed drug for weight loss.

Now, the approval of Wegovy by the Spanish Medicines Agency (Aemps) essentially responds to a strategy to combat the lack of stocks of Ozempic: Wegovy is only indicated for obesity and will seek to win over Ozempic consumers. Since May 1 , Wegovy can be obtained in Spanish pharmacies. Spain is the seventh country in the European Union (EU) to give the green light for its commercialization. However, the National Health System (SNS) does not finance it: it has a price of 128 euros per box.

Spain is the seventh country in the European Union to give the green light to the marketing of Wegovy, a long-awaited step for diabetics

Beyond losing weight, in 2023 a clinical study showed that Wegovy could reduce the risk of suffering a myocardial infarction or stroke by up to 20% in the case of overweight patients. In some countries, it is already prescribed for this purpose as well.

“Within the world of innovation, we are pleased with the positive results of the renal outcomes trial with semaglutide and the expansion of the cardiovascular risk reduction label for Wegovy in the United States,” explained the president of Novo Nordisk. This opens a new horizon of possibilities and billing for the Danish multinational. At the moment it has already recalculated upwards its profits for 2024 : it foresees a growth of more than 22% in its operating profits.

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(Featured image by Joa70 via Pixabay)

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First published in PlantaDoce. A third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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