High demand, low supplies for Novo's weight-loss drug launch in Germany
24/08/2023 06:00
By Ludwig Burger and Maggie Fick
FRANKFURT, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Supplies of Novo Nordisk's
NOVOb.CO popular weight-loss drug Wegovy are limited in
Germany less than a month after its launch in Europe's largest
drug market, major drug distributors and doctors told Reuters.
The volumes of the weekly injection that the Danish
drugmaker has delivered to the country so far have fallen short
of strong demand, the wholesalers said.
"Demand is by far exceeding the available volumes," a
spokesperson for Noweda, which has almost a quarter of the
German drug wholesale trade, told Reuters, adding the problem
was nationwide.
Interviews with four wholesalers that account for three
quarters of the German market, two doctors, a clinic and a
pharmacy offer the first insights into Wegovy's rollout in
Germany since its debut there at the end of July.
They also highlight the challenge for Novo as it seeks to
expand in Europe while struggling to meet sky-high U.S. demand
and spending billions boosting output.
In June, the company said breaking into new markets in
Europe would be slower than initially planned. Earlier this
month, it warned of continued periodic drug shortages across
geographies.
Ahead of the German launch, doctors and patients told
Reuters they anticipated high demand for the drug, with many
patients prepared to take on the monthly cost of about 300 euros
($327) for the maintenance dose required after initial ramp-up.
"We have had a controlled and limited launch in Germany and
been delivering to wholesalers continuously," a Novo
spokesperson said in response to questions from Reuters, adding
it had no influence over onward distribution to pharmacies.
The company reiterated a call for physicians to prescribe
only in line with the approved use, which is for obese people
with a body mass index of at least 30 or of at least 27 when a
weight-related health problem is diagnosed.
Uninterrupted use is important for a sustained lowering of
appetite and also because the drug's dosage needs to be stepped
up over several months, following a schedule.
Munich-based obesity specialist Dr. Thomas Horbach said
there was no Wegovy available in his area.
"Despite asking many different pharmacists about Wegovy, I
did not find anyone who got the drug from any of their
wholesalers," he told Reuters.
Ozempic, which is Novo's diabetes treatment and contains a
smaller amount of the active ingredient in Wegovy, is also in
short supply, the Noweda spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for Sanacorp Pharmahandel, with an almost 20%
market share, said orders from pharmacies for some dosages of
Wegovy were "several times" higher than the amounts delivered.
Phoenix Pharmahandel, the country's largest drugs
wholesaler, and smaller trading alliance Pharma Privat said they
were not receiving the volumes needed to meet demand and were
trying their best to distribute fairly.
The distributors, which act as go-betweens for drug
companies and pharmacies, declined to give details of volumes.
Helios St. Elisabeth Klinik in the western city of
Oberhausen, which runs an obesity centre, said that patients
there managed to obtain the drug but needed to ask around and go
beyond their usual pharmacies to find it.
DocMorris, a German mail-order pharmacy, said it did not
have any Wegovy in stock.
Dr. Jodok Fink, a bariatric surgeon in the southwestern city
of Freiburg, said his patients had no access to Wegovy.
"We prescribe Ozempic because it’s cheaper (than Wegovy) and
because Wegovy is not available,” he said.
($1 = 0.9185 euros)
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FACTBOX-Weight-loss drugs: the next gold rush urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N3773TM
FOCUS-Novo Nordisk rivals see room to compete in $100 bln
weight-loss drug market urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N3703K5
GRAPHIC-Wegovy prescriptions in the U.S. https://tmsnrt.rs/3NI7A1l
EXCLUSIVE-Delays getting higher dose Wegovy to patients reported
by US doctors urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N38Z537
ANALYSIS-Europe faces long wait for weight-loss drugs as
governments eye costs urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N35V5NR
Novo hires Thermo Fisher as second manufacturer for Wegovy
weight-loss drug -source urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N3A40WD
Novo eyes more health benefits from Wegovy urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N39R4FM
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt and Maggie Fick in
London;
Editing by Josephine Mason and Mark Potter)
((ludwig.burger@thomsonreuters.com; +49 30 220133634;))