After announcing forecast-beating earnings on Thursday, Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk (NOVOb. C.O.) warned it would have to cut U.S. initial dosages of its popular Wegovy weight-loss medicine to meet demand.
Novo Nordisk shares fell 4.7% at 0731 GMT, trimming a 140% advance since the company debuted Wegovy in the U.S. in June 2021. Its stock is Europe’s finest.
“To safeguard continuity of care, the supply of the lower Wegovy dose strengths in the U.S. will be reduced temporarily,” Novo said.
Novo has spent much in improving the Wegovy supply due to high demand.
Novo’s obesity medicines, including Wegovy, increased by 124% in the first quarter.
“We cannot supply an uptake that just continues growing, so it’s important for us to secure continuity of supply for those patients who have started treatment,” Chief Executive Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen told media on Thursday.
Jorgensen noted that beginning dosages would be decreased by 50% for “some months” in the U.S.
Given the medicine demand, Credit Suisse analysts were unsurprised.
On Thursday, Jorgensen said a third contract manufacturer would start Wegovy manufacturing later this year.
Jorgensen couldn’t say when Wegovy will launch in the U.K., where the cost-effectiveness watchdog approved it for obese patients in March.
The U.K. is part of our international rollout. However, he declined to discuss launch dates.
According to a Refinitiv poll, Novo reported an EBIT of 25 billion Danish crowns ($3.72 billion) on Thursday, surpassing the average expert projection of 22.4 billion.
Novo, Europe’s second-most valuable business after LVMH, boosted its full-year operating profit and sales estimates this month due to robust Wegovy demand.
Novo reiterated full-year growth expectations in local currencies on Thursday, but owing to the strength of the Danish crown, sales and operating profit growth in Danish crowns are projected to be 6 and 9 percentage points lower, respectively.
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