Novo Nordisk lowered its gross sales forecast for weight problems drug Wegovy, citing competitors from compounded variations.
Scott Olson/Getty Photographs
cover caption
toggle caption
Scott Olson/Getty Photographs
Novo Nordisk’s shares plunged greater than 20% Tuesday, after the corporate lower the forecast for its flagship weight problems drug.
Earlier than the markets opened, the firm introduced that gross sales of its weight problems medication, Wegovy, are anticipated to develop not more than 14% this yr. That is down from its prediction of as much as 21% on Might 7.
The corporate blames cheaper alternate options made by compounding pharmacies, that are allowed to make what are basically copies of medication after they’re briefly provide. Wegovy and Ozempic, a diabetes drug generally prescribed for weight reduction, had been on the Meals and Drug Administration’s drug scarcity record, paving the way in which for a increase in compounded variations.
The FDA dominated that the scarcity of Wegovy was over earlier this yr. However some compounders are testing the authorized panorama. They’re customizing weight problems medicine for sufferers by including nutritional vitamins or tweaking doses.
Novo Nordisk says it’s “pursuing a number of” methods to finish the observe, “together with litigation.”
Compounding pharmacies usually assist sufferers whose wants aren’t met by current permitted medicine. The compounded medicine will not be generics, nor do they undergo the FDA’s approval course of. As an alternative, compounding pharmacists tailor medicine for particular person sufferers who want them and are largely regulated on the state degree by boards of pharmacy.
As an illustration, if a drug is just obtainable as a capsule however an aged affected person cannot swallow one, a physician may write a prescription so {that a} compounding pharmacist may put together it in liquid kind.
Novo Nordisk additionally introduced a brand new CEO Tuesday, Maziar Mike Doustdarwho has been on the firm for 33 years. He’ll succeed Lars Jorgensen, whose departure was introduced in Might.
“Now, the truth that my announcement comes proper after the steering replace, effectively, it simply makes the mandate forward much more clear,” Doustdar informed traders on a Tuesday morning name, promising effectivity, development and shareholder worth.
However Scott Brunner, CEO of the Alliance for Pharmacy Compoundingsays Novo Nordisk and its competitor Eli Lilly have misrepresented compounding pharmacists.
“GLP1 compounding is demonstrably not unlawful – although one can argue that saying so provides Novo a useful excuse for having to chop its earnings forecast,” he wrote in an emailed assertion to NPR. “Customized compounded drugs are allowed beneath the Meals, Drug, & Beauty Act when a prescriber judges {that a} customized formulation, which isn’t obtainable commercially, will make a big distinction for a specific affected person. That authority applies to any drug that meets the factors for compounding, not simply GLP1s.”
Well being Economist Rena Conti says Novo Nordisk’s state of affairs is “not stunning.”
“Compounding gross sales have elevated dramatically this yr as compound pharmacies have (undertaken) aggressive advertising and marketing and different strategies to extend income,” says Conti, a professor at Boston College.
She says that Novo Nordisk’s competitor, Eli Lilly, which makes Zepbound, has additionally been gaining new prospects by promoting discounted vials on to customers who aren’t utilizing their insurance coverage. It has transformed them from utilizing the compounded variations to the model.
Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks informed NPR in March that each month, roughly 100,000 folks purchase Zepbound straight from Eli Lilly by means of its web site.
Novo Nordisk’s effort to promote Wegovy on to customers paying money hasn’t been as profitable as anticipated, the corporate mentioned.
“As unsafe and illegal mass compounding continues, the Wegovy penetration inside the money channel has been lower-than-expected,” Novo Nordisk mentioned in its Tuesday morning assertion. “Inside this channel, NovoCare Pharmacy was launched in March 2025. Wegovy prescriptions through NovoCare Pharmacy (together with TeleHealth collaborations) quantity to round 11,000 complete weekly prescriptions, along with round 20,000 weekly prescriptions within the retail money channel.”
