A new weight-loss drug that curbs patients’ appetite is flying off shelves

In an area hungry for options, demand exceeds supply for Wegovi, a weekly injection that launched in June, which curbs patients’ appetites and helps them lose about 15% of their body weight. The Danish drugmaker’s obesity-drug revenue jumped an unprecedented 41% last quarter.

The pandemic may have played a role in prompting people to lose weight, amid evidence that carrying extra pounds can worsen outcomes for Covid-19 victims, Chief Executive Officer Lars Frugard Jorgensen said on Wednesday. said. But the drug is also the first slimming prescription drug to be approved for seven years in the US, where most adults are overweight and struggle to either lose weight or keep them off.

“Demand is strong,” Frauergaard Jorgensen said on a conference call on Wednesday. “It’s certainly unfortunate that we can’t help all patients.” He said the company is working through supply constraints to produce and package as much of the drug, and the imbalance should be resolved early next year.

Novo, best known for its diabetes treatments, is pivotal to the treatment of the global obesity epidemic – a related chronic disease with untold growth potential. Many drug makers have tried and failed to tap the market, offering drugs that either disappointed or turned out to be risky.

An estimated 1 billion people in the world will be considered obese by 2025, increasing the risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and increasing health care costs. In the US, the number of states where more than a third of adults are obese has nearly doubled since 2018.

Judging by analysts’ estimates, Wegovi will become a blockbuster next year, with annual revenue reaching $3.2 billion in 2024. The drug works by mimicking a hormone called GLP-1 that targets areas of the brain that control appetite and food intake, and this is not without side effects. Patients report symptoms ranging from vomiting to acid reflux.

Novo last week raised its profit and sales outlook for the second time for the year on the back of strong demand. Given its recent performance, the upper end of the outlook should be “easily achievable,” according to Peter Welford, an analyst at Jefferies.