The sales of the prescription drugs for the treatment of obesity had not seen any uprise over the past few years due to the limited weight-loss effects in Novo Nordisk. Fortunately, some recent, more effective drugs, seem to be convincing obese people for the treatment.
A number of people have been seen seeking treatments to reduce obesity during the pandemic. Novo Nordisk CEO said this while referring to the soaring sales of their recently launched weight-loss drug, Wegovy, causing a rise in their earnings forecast for the year.
“I think the (COVID-19) pandemic has underlined the importance of treating obesity more than ever,” Chief Executive Officer of Novo Nordisk CEO, Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, stated. “There is a general sentiment building that it is a disease and it is a disease that takes medical intervention.”
It’s been only six months Wegovy was launched, however, the prescriptions for the drug have already made it to the level of other obesity drug, Sexanda, by the same drugmaker, which was launched in 2015.
The said drug belongs to the GLP-1 analogues, a range of new diabetes and obesity drugs. It reduces appetite and increases feelings of fullness in patients, giving impression of a gut hormone which stimulates the production of insulin in the body.
“Of the 650 million living with obesity today only 2% are treated with prescription medicine so obviously it’s a huge opportunity,” said Jorgensen. Though he was with the view that it was precocious to predict about its future growth.
The Danish drug-maker amazed the market on Wednesday by posting its second-quarter earnings, surpassing its estimate, with shares closing up at 4.8% which continued to go up by 3% in early trade, the next day.
Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca, along with some other renowned pharma companies, are also included in the list of companies trying to hit the market with their obesity drugs.
