Wegovy, Ozempic and siblings post 39% increase in Q2 sales
The obesity and diabetes control drugs accounted for about 5% of U.S. drug spending.
U.S. sales of Novo Nordisk’s popular new weight and diabetes control drugs continued to grow rapidly in the second quarter.
Total U.S. sales of Ozempic, Rybelsus, Saxenda, Wegovy and Victoza, five types of GLP-1 agonists, increased to $5.1 billion in the second quarter, up 39% from the total Novo Nordisk recorded in the second quarter of 2023.
The United States will spend about $116 billion on prescription drugs per quarter this year, up from $108 billion per quarter last year, according to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services forecasters.
Novo Nordisk’s five major GLP-1 agonists may have accounted for about 4.4% of U.S. projected prescription spending in the latest quarter, up from 3.9% in the year-earlier quarter.
Related: Humira beat out Ozempic in 2023 employer plan cost rankings
Novo Nordisk, a drug maker based in Bagsværd, Denmark, published the quarterly sales figures Wednesday when it released its latest earnings. The U.S. dollar figures here are based on conversions of figures originally given in Danish kroner.
Sales of the GLP-1 agonists have been strong even though demand for Wegovy, a product officially approved for treatment of obesity, is greater than supply and only a minority of U.S. insurers cover it.
About 50 million U.S. prescription plan enrollees now have access to the drug, up from 45 million in mid-2023, Doug Langa, Novo Nordisk’s head of North America operations, told the analysts during a conference call the company held to go over second-quarter results.
The number of state Medicaid plans that cover Wegovy for at least some patients has increased to 20, from 15 in May.
The topic is popular enough and controversial enough to be the subject of an upcoming Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing.
Demand for the drugs could continue to increase: Research is supporting the belief that GLP-1 agonists reduce people’s overall death rate, according to Martin Holst Lange, the Novo Nordisk head of development.
A recent trial showed that Wegovy reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events by 20% when compared with a placebo, reduced the risk of cardiovascular death by 15% and reduced the risk of death from any cause by 19%, Lange said.
Rating analysts at Moody’s recently suggested that increased spending on the drugs might eventually cut overall health plan costs, by reducing spending on conditions associated with obesity and high blood sugar levels.