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For the first time since May, Novo Nordisk is gradually increasing the supply of its highly sought-after weight loss drug Wegovy.
The Danish drugmaker told FOX Business the company is making significant investments in Wegovy, which gained significant attention since 2022 after being touted by high-profile figures and social media users for its weight loss effects.
It “has been steadily increasing capacity to produce more Wegovy than ever before,” the company said.
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With the added supply, the company is essentially “doubling the amount of the lower dose strengths of the medicine in the U.S. market,” starting this month.
Simultaneously, the company said it is gradually increasing the overall supply of the drug throughout the rest of the year.
However, it’s still warning patients that “overall demand will continue to exceed supply,” meaning some patients will still have a hard time filling a prescription.
Packets of Wegovy move along a conveyor at the Novo Nordisk A/S production factory in Hillerod, Denmark,June 12, 2023. (Carsten Snejbjerg/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
In May 2023, the company, whose obesity care sales are being driven by the uptake in Wegovy, started to limit the supply of certain dose strengths to wholesalers for distribution to retail pharmacies due to frenzied demand.
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The company was trying to ensure that existing patients who really needed the drug had access to it.
Novo faced supply issues for both Wegovy and its diabetes drug Ozempic, which is another version of the drug semaglutide, given their weight loss effects.
The anti-diabetic medication Ozempic made by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. (Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
In 2022, the frenzied demand prompted both drugs to be temporarily placed on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s list of drug shortages. Both drugs are listed as “currently available” on the FDA’s site.
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While production has ramped up, Novo said it expects it will “take a couple of weeks” for product to arrive at pharmacies.
The company also pledged to “closely monitor market dynamics and prescribing trends” and “manage shipments as best as possible in an effort to support continuity of care for patients.”
