Novo Nordisk launches weight-loss drug Wegovy in Britain

LONDON (Reuters): The Danish drug making company Novo Nordisk has launched its weight-loss injection “Wegovy” in Britain on Monday.

This is the company’s second debut in Europe in just over a month as the drug-maker seeks to expand in the region even as it struggles to keep up with soaring demand.

Novo said in a statement that Wegovy would be available in the United Kingdom “through a controlled and limited launch”.

Surging demand for the drug, and Novo’s highly effective diabetes drug Ozempic, have also proven to be financially successful for the company, sending the company’s shares and earnings to record highs.

Wegovy, shown to help patients reduce body weight by around 15 percent when used along with exercise and lifestyle changes, is so far available in the United States, Norway, Denmark, and as of late July, Germany.

The company has struggled to keep up with demand even as it has added production capacity, and its Chief Executive Officer told Reuters last month it would “take quite some years” before the company can satisfy the whole market.

“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,” the company said in its statement.

Novo’s statement noted that the drug will be available both within the National Health Service’s weight management scheme and “privately through a registered healthcare professional”.

Novo did not say how much supply it would make available in Britain or how much Wegovy would cost in either of the two treatment scenarios it mentioned. In the United States, the drug sells for as much as $1,350 a month.

In June, the British government said it planned to launch a pilot program exploring how new weekly weight-loss shots such as Wegovy can be given to obese patients by general practitioners, though at the time Wegovy’s launch date was unknown.

Reuters reported last week that supplies of Wegovy were limited in Germany less than a month after its launch in Europe’s largest drug market, highlighting the challenge for Novo’s ambitions in Europe.