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 reduction injection within the U.Okay. on Monday, advancing the drug’s rollout in Europe regardless of ongoing provide constraints.
The Danish pharmaceutical large stated that the weekly injection could be accessible initially “through a controlled and limited launch,” with solely sure sufferers eligible to obtain the drug on the nation’s National Health Service.
To qualify for remedy, 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 response to suggestions outlined by the National Institute for Care and Excellence.
The drug may also be accessible privately by way of a “registered healthcare professional,” Novo Nordisk stated in a press release, with out including additional element.
The firm didn’t reply to a CNBC request for remark over the price 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 offers personal medical insurance to round 1.1 million Brits, on Monday stated that Wegovy wouldn’t be lined beneath its coverage, in response to Reuters.
‘Closely monitoring’ provide points
Wegovy’s U.Okay. enlargement comes simply over a month after the drug launched in Germany — its third European market on the time, after Denmark and Norway.
Surging demand for the burden loss drug, in addition to a collection of scientific research which level to its wider well being advantages, have shot the corporate’s shares to document highs. On Friday, it briefly unseated French luxurious items behemoth LVMH to develop 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 occasion final month that it may very well be “some years” earlier than the corporate can fulfill all shoppers.
In the U.Okay., Novo Nordisk stated that “a proportion” of obtainable provide could be allotted particularly for NHS remedy, and that the corporate would work with healthcare skilled to make sure that “patients with the highest unmet medical need” are prioritized.
“We are closely monitoring Wegovy demand and are working with regulators and providers to ensure people living with obesity can have access to and remain on treatment,” 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 present sufferers, whereas in Germany it suggested medical doctors to “prescribe responsibly,” limiting prescriptions to sufferers with medical wants.
Source: www.cnbc.com”