Ozempic, Wegovy drug prescriptions hit 9 million

U.S. health care providers wrote greater than nine million prescriptions for Ozempic, Wegovy and similar diabetes and obesity drugs through the last three months of 2022, in line with a recent evaluation released Wednesday.

The report, from analytics firm Trilliant Health, shows that quarterly prescriptions for those drugs increased 300% between early 2020 and the top of last 12 months.

Novo Nordisk‘s weekly diabetes injection Ozempic accounted for greater than 65% of total prescriptions as of the top of 2022, and was primarily prescribed off-label for its ability to assist patients drop a few pounds. 

The information further confirms the rise in demand for that group of medication, which have fueled a frenzy amongst Americans and on Wall Street for his or her ability to cause significant weight reduction. Those treatments, referred to as GLP-1s, mimic a hormone within the gut to suppress an individual’s appetite. 

However the rate of future prescription volumes will largely rely upon whether manufacturers of those drugs, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, can resolve widespread supply shortages affecting most of their treatments within the U.S., amongst other aspects, in line with the report.

The evaluation is predicated on insurance claims data for about 300 million Americans. Among the many other drugs prescribed are Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug Mounjaro and an older GLP-1 drug from Novo Nordisk called Saxenda, which is not as effective for weight reduction as Ozempic and Wegovy.

But the overall variety of GLP-1 prescriptions is probably going an undercount since some health plans don’t cover weight reduction treatments like Wegovy, leaving some patients to pay for them out of pocket. 

Some people, reminiscent of Hollywood celebrities and billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk, are wealthy enough to pay for the drugs themselves. 

Ozempic’s list price tops $935 per monthly package, and its weight reduction counterpart Wegovy is about $1,300. The drugs are supposed to be taken indefinitely to maintain weight off, similar to cholesterol-lowering drugs or blood pressure medications that should be taken for all times. 

Other drugmakers are jockeying to capitalize on the budding weight reduction industry. And analysts say Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro has the potential to overtake drugs from Novo Nordisk after its approved within the U.S. for weight reduction. 

Greater than two in five adults have obesity, in line with the National Institutes of Health. About 1 in 11 adults have severe obesity.