- Novo continues to battle increased compounding of its drugs, in spite of semaglutide shortage having been resolved.
- Doustdar dismissed competition concerns with rival drugmaker Eli Lilly on Friday, highlighting that Novo’s oral obesity pill offers superior weight loss.
- Reuters reported on Friday that Lilly had $1.5 billion worth of pre-launch inventory for its oral obesity drug, ensuring sufficient supply in case of simultaneous approval in several countries.
Novo Nordisk (NVO) CEO Mike Doustdar said on Friday that the company will scale its Wegovy pills country-by-country in order to avoid a shortage or compounding of the drug.
The Danish drugmaker launched the Wegovy pill, an oral obesity drug, in the U.S. in January to great reception. There are currently 246,000 people on the pill, as per the Novo CEO.
Doustdar said on Friday in an interview with CNBC that the company has filed for approval in the European Union. However, the company is looking to ensure the U.S. market is supplied before choosing another country to scale in, he said, while noting that shortage in injectable semaglutide previously created an industry on the side called compounders.
Novo continues to battle increased compounding of its drugs, in spite of the shortage having been resolved. Earlier this week, Novo Nordisk sued telehealth firm Hims & Hers earlier this week for selling compounded versions of semaglutide, which is the active ingredient of the firm’s injectable and oral obesity drug. The company is asking the court to permanently ban the telehealth firm from selling copycat version of its drugs
“So we have set ourselves, never again, on a shortage,” the CEO said.
Competition Concerns
Doustdar also dismissed competition concerns with rival drugmaker Eli Lilly and Company (LLY). Lilly is expected to launch its own obesity pill in the second quarter, rivaling Novo’s Wegovy pill.
Doustdar noted that the Wegovy pill yielded 16.6% weight loss in a clinical trial, compared to Lilly's 12.4%. Further the price point for the pills is likely to be similar, he said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to decide on Lilly’s application seeking approval for its oral obesity drug Orforglipron in April. Reuters reported on Friday that Lilly had $1.5 billion worth of pre-launch inventory for the drug, ensuring sufficient supply in case of simultaneous approval in several countries.
How Did Stocktwits Users React?
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around NVO stock stayed within the ‘bearish’ territory, while message volume remained at ‘normal’ levels.
Sentiment around LLY stock trended in the ‘bearish’ territory at the time of writing.
NVO stock plunged 37% over the past 12 months.
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