Novo Nordisk Weight-Loss Drug Wegovy Launched in Germany, First Massive EU Market

By Ludwig Burger and Maggie Fick

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Novo Nordisk has launched blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy in Germany, its first massive European market, hoping Germans can pay lots of of euros out of pocket for a drug that public medical health insurance plans are thus far barred from protecting.

The drug, proven to assist sufferers scale back physique weight by round 15% when used together with train and life-style adjustments, is already out there in america, however in Europe is thus far on sale solely in small markets Norway and Denmark.

A spokesperson for Novo confirmed on Saturday that German sufferers had obtained their first prescriptions, in keeping with beforehand introduced plans to launch the drug there on the finish of July.

The Danish drugmaker’s share worth has greater than doubled within the two years because the drug debuted, turning Novo into Europe’s second-most-valuable listed firm after LVMH.

Docs and sufferers in Germany have instructed Reuters they anticipate excessive demand for the weekly injections, with many sufferers ready to tackle the associated fee, beginning at 170 euros ($190) a month and rising to greater than 300 euros as therapy requires the dosage to extend.

Public medical health insurance plans, which cowl about 90% of Germans, won’t foot the invoice, below a many years outdated regulation that bars them from protecting weight-loss medicine.

For the ten% of Germans with non-public medical health insurance, protection will range. Amongst main suppliers, Allianz says it would pay if a doctor diagnoses a medical want, whereas Debeka stated its plans exclude weight-loss remedies.

Affected person advocates and physicians have welcomed the arrival of Wegovy in Germany, the place 18.5% of adults are overweight, above the European Union common of 16%.

The Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s state public well being company, says ailments linked to extra physique weight pose a substantial burden on well being and social safety programs.

Novo is ramping up manufacturing to satisfy hovering demand in america, the place the drug sells for as a lot as $1,350 a month. It says it would intently monitor prescriptions in Germany to make sure entry for folks with weight problems, nevertheless it can’t not rule out provide delays.

In Germany, Wegovy can be administered with the identical injection pen utilized in Norway and Denmark, completely different from the one utilized in america, to keep away from hitting provides there.

Wegovy’s introduction in Germany will stir debate in a nation the place the well being care system has typically handled weight problems as a life-style selection relatively than a power illness.

Docs say many Germans searching for to shed extra pounds have already used Ozempic, a diabetes drug additionally made by Novo that may be a decrease dose model of the identical ingredient as Wegovy.

Physicians have apprehensive that provides can be strained by non-obese folks searching for “self-importance” prescriptions – a priority mirrored in a Novo assertion in mid-July saying physicians ought to “prescribe responsibly”.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt and Maggie Fick in London)

Copyright 2023 Thomson Reuters.