Novo Nordisk cuts Wegovy price, plans to launch oral weight-loss pill in US market — All we know

Danish pharma major Novo Nordisk on 17 November said that it will lower the price of its obesity drug Wegovy's injectable option in the United States and plans to go “all in” on its upcoming oral weight-loss pill to gain back lost market share in the lucrative market, Reuters reported.

Novo is awaiting US regulatory nod for Wegovy's oral version by year-end, with the pill format expected to appeal to patients who prefer to avoid injections. “We have more than enough pills this time, so we're going to go all in and really make this happen,” CEO Mike Doustdar said at an event hosted by the Danish Shareholders Association.

The company — locked in a race with US rival Eli Lilly — is looking to avoid a repeat of the supply issues that plagued its launch of injectable Wegovy in 2021, which paved the way for Lilly and compounded copycat versions.

Novo Nordisk cuts Wegovy price: Trump deal in effect?

• Novo on November 17 also said it will cut the price of injectable Wegovy to $349 per month for cash-paying patients in the US, down from $499.
• Notably, this comes after a previously announced deal with US President Donald Trump, which was scheduled to begin in January 2025.
• First-time doses of Wegovy and Ozempic, a diabetes drug that contains the same active ingredient, will also be available for $149 per month to Medicare, Medicaid, and cash-paying patients through the government-backed TrumpRx platform or via commercial partners such as GoodRx, WeightWatchers, and Costco.
• The price adjustments come as Novo has struggled to fend off competition from Eli Lilly, which moved faster to offer its drug to cash payers, and from pharmacies and telehealth providers selling cheaper copies of Wegovy.

Doustdar noted that consumers using weight-loss drugs exhibit more “consumer-like behaviour” compared to Novo's traditional diabetes patient base, underscoring the need for greater adaptability in its commercial approach. “That requires that we need to very quickly adjust to this,” he said.

Newly-elected Novo chairman Lars Rebien Sorensen on 14 November had said he plans to add over-the-counter expertise to the board.

Novo gets aggressive as sales growth stalls

“I like the initiative and the new tone. I have long waited for Novo to push a more aggressive strategy to try and regain momentum in the United States,” said Claus Henrik Johansen, CEO of Global Health Invest, a Danish healthcare investment fund that does not own Novo shares currently.

Doustdar said that sales in the fourth quarter were poised to fall by 4% based on “a mathematical calculation of what we have told the market”. Sales grew 18% in the first three months of this year but growth has slowed since then.

“You could say it's really bad. We are only giving medication to a fraction of those who want it, who need it,” he said, while emphasizing the potential for the company's pricing and output strategies to dramatically expand patient access.

Paul Major, a healthcare-focused portfolio manager at Bellevue Asset Management, which also currently does not hold Novo shares, said Doustdar's comments underline the risks Novo faces in executing its strategy. “This is the ‘if you build it, they will come’ argument. Prices fall, and you hope you get a volume offset. We'll have to see,” he said.

(With inputs from Reuters)