The maker of fat-loss drug Wegovy says it’s increasing supplies and the shortage will be fixed in weeks

By James On Feb 2, 2023

The maker of pharmaceutical weight-loss hit Wegovy expects the shortage to be resolved in the coming months as production ramps up.

The drug has taken the country by storm since its approval in 2021 to treat obesity, a condition that has only recently been reconsidered as the result of a myriad of genetic and environmental factors beyond a person’s control.

An explosion in demand combined with manufacturing setbacks led to a contraction in the supply chain last year, leaving behind shortages of both Wegovy and its sister drug Ozempic.

There has been such a high demand that the Food and Drug Administration database it lists semaglutide, the drug’s active ingredient, as “currently in short supply.”

But executives at Novo Nordisk, the drugmaker, assured investors Wednesday that the company was expanding manufacturing at several production sites to meet its profit projections, of which obesity drugs make up a significant part. .

Wegovy is a GLP-1 drug that has been heralded for its value as a weight loss supplement.

Karsten Munk Knudsen, Novo Nordisk’s CFO, said: “As you know, we have one [production] internal line, two more running at full speed and we have one line on track to be online the first half of this year and then another line on track to be online the second half of this year. So we have a significant advance in Wegovy production capacity.”

Company executives touted the massive gains from the weight-control drugs in its portfolio. Sales of obesity drugs have skyrocketed 84 percent in 2022, fueled by the far-reaching belief that Wegovy and Ozempic are miracle weight-loss cures.

Celebrities and influencers had already been singing its praises, causing it to explode in popularity. Famous users include Elon Musk, who credited Wegovy for his body transformation on Twitter. It is also rumored that Kim Kardashian used the injections.

But the increased demand led to a mad scramble for limited supply. Suddenly, diabetic patients relying on Ozempic, initially approved to treat type 2 diabetes, couldn’t find the weekly injectable to lower blood sugar.

The shortages have become so protracted that the most desperate people bought the active ingredient, semaglutide, from shady online marketplaces so they could mix the ingredients together to make a local version of the drug.

Lars Jorgensen, the company’s CEO, acknowledged that there has been “pent-up demand” for the drug, adding: “We know for sure that patients have been lining up.”

“Obviously we are encouraged by the trend line that we see, but we also believe that there will be a normalization of that.”

The active ingredient semaglutide is a GLP-1, or glucagon-like peptide-1, which mimics the satiety hormone GLP-1 in our bodies.

The FDA approved Wegovy for weight loss in adults 20 years of age and older with a body mass index of 27 to 30 in June 2021 after impressive trials demonstrated its ability to reduce a person’s body weight by about one 15% for 68 weeks.

Wegovy and Ozempic work by triggering the body to produce a hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1 that is released naturally from the intestines after meals.

Celebrities including Elon Musk, Jeremy Clarkson and Remi Bader have spoken about the ‘truly amazing’ Ozempic, which suppresses appetite and leaves users feeling fuller for longer.

It also gained regulatory approval in December to treat obesity in people under the age of 20, marking a sea change in the way pediatric obesity is treated.

But this move raised questions among some pediatricians and weight-loss experts, who worried that promoting the so-called miracle cure for obesity, especially among children, would downplay the importance of eating a healthy diet and exercising properly. regularity.

In addition to being hard to come by right now, the drug is expensive. Wegovy and Ozempic are weekly injections that cost over $1,300 for a month’s supply. And most of the time, insurance won’t foot the bill.

And early scientific evidence from long-term use shows that once a person starts taking the drug and sees positive results, they need to keep taking it to maintain those results.

Common side effects of the drug include nausea, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal problems.

Wegovy can also have some rare but serious side effects, including possible thyroid tumors, pancreatitis, gallbladder problems, and kidney failure.

WHAT IS WEGOVY?

Wegovy is a brand name for a medicine called semaglutide.

A 1mg dose of semaglutide is already approved in the UK as a treatment for people with type 2 diabetes.

But studies have found that 2.4mg of the drug works effectively as a weight loss medication.

It works by causing the body to produce a hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1 that is released naturally from the intestines after meals.

The hormone helps control blood sugar and makes people feel full so they know when to stop eating.

The results of a study of 2,000 people over 15 months show that participants lost 15 percent of their body weight on average, which is equivalent to 15.3 kg.

The group received individual counseling sessions from registered dietitians to help them stick to a low-calorie diet and exercise plan, along with weekly injections.

The volunteers reported an improvement in their quality of life and a reduction in risk factors for developing heart disease and diabetes, such as reduced waist circumference, blood fats, blood sugar, and blood pressure. .

But side effects triggered by the drug include mild to moderate nausea and diarrhea, but the researchers said these were short-lived and resolved on their own.