Packages of the weight-loss drug Wegovy from the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk lie on the sales counter in a Danish pharmacy.
Stefan Trumpf | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Novo Nordisk launched its Wegovy weight reduction injection within the U.K. on Monday, advancing the drug’s rollout in Europe despite ongoing supply constraints.
The Danish pharmaceutical giant said that the weekly injection could be available initially “through a controlled and limited launch,” with only certain patients eligible to receive the drug on the country’s National Health Service.
To qualify for treatment, patients should be on the NHS’s weight management service, have at the very least one weight-related condition and have a body mass index of 35, in response to recommendations outlined by the National Institute for Care and Excellence.
The drug may also be available privately through a “registered healthcare skilled,” Novo Nordisk said in a statement, without adding further detail.
Novo Nordisk declined to reveal the ultimate price agreed with NHS England for the drug, but said that NICE, the U.K. drug cost-effectiveness watchdog, had described it as a “cost-effective use of NHS resources.” It added that the fee within the private market will likely be “determined by licensed prescribers.”
Within the U.S., Wegovy has an inventory price of $1,350 for a monthly dose, while in Europe it retails for around 170 to 300 euros ($190-$330) monthly.
British insurance company Aviva, which provides private medical insurance to around 1.1 million Brits, on Monday said that Wegovy wouldn’t be covered under its policy, according to Reuters.
‘Closely monitoring’ supply issues
Wegovy’s U.K. expansion comes just over a month after the drug launched in Germany — its third European market on the time, after Denmark and Norway.
Surging demand for the load loss drug, in addition to a series of clinical studies which point to its wider health advantages, have shot the corporate’s shares to record highs. On Friday, it briefly unseated French luxury goods behemoth LVMH to grow to be Europe’s most beneficial company.
Supply constraints proceed to weigh heavy on the drug’s rollout, with CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen telling a Reuters Newsmakers event last month that it may very well be “some years” before the corporate can satisfy all consumers.
Within the U.K., Novo Nordisk said that “a proportion” of obtainable supply could be allocated specifically for NHS treatment, and that the corporate would work with healthcare skilled to make sure that “patients with the best unmet medical need” are prioritized.
“We’re closely monitoring Wegovy demand and are working with regulators and providers to make sure people living with obesity can have access to and remain on treatment,” it added.
The corporate has also limited provisions in other markets. In May, it cut the U.S. supply of starter doses to make sure continuity for existing patients, while in Germany it advised doctors to “prescribe responsibly,” limiting prescriptions to patients with medical needs.
