Wegovy maker warns of potential sales drop: What's going on
Novo Nordisk, the maker of popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic, says its sales could drop by up to 13% by 2026.
The main reasons? Price cuts in the US, more competition, and patents for key meds expiring soon.
Patents expiring and price cuts
To make medications more affordable, Novo Nordisk lowered monthly prices from over $1,000 to about $350 in the US.
Plus, with semaglutide patents expiring in several countries, including India (but still safe in the US till 2032), cheaper generic versions are on the way.
Competition is heating up
Wegovy is still going strong with around 50,000 weekly prescriptions in the US as of January.
But Eli Lilly's Mounjaro has shown even better results for weight loss and its pill version could launch this spring if approved—so competition is heating up.
Stock takes a hit, but not all bad news
After sharing its forecast, Novo Nordisk's stock dropped 18% on February 4—wiping out gains from earlier this year and nearly halving its value since last year.
Still, they grew sales by 10% last year and profits were up too, so it's not all doom and gloom.