Why new Wegovy presentations will not restore the obesity of Novo Nordisk

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. David Wainer (with input from the Wall Street Journal) 3 min read April 30, 2025, 04:31 PM ist over the past two weeks, as prescription volumes remained slow, analysts reduced the first quarter sales by about 5%. (Reuters) Summary The Danish drug manufacturer knits Wegovy access from Via Telehealth providers such as Hims and RO. But the gap with Eli Lilly is just getting wider. Novo Nordisk created the obesity drug revolution with Ozempic and Wegovy. Now it is preventing not to fall behind Eli Lilly. Novo on Monday announced new partnerships with Telehealth providers Hims & Hers Health, RO and Lifemd to sell its weight loss medicine away by their platforms. Hims & Hers, for example, will publish all doses of Wegovy to Americans who report for qualifying subscriptions, with plans starting from $ 599 a month. The move achieves two important things for Novo Nordisk. First, it expands Wegovy’s range among American patients, especially cash -paying customers who are willing to access the drug outside of traditional insurance channels. Secondly, it can reduce competition from composite versions of Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy, which was presented by Hims & Hers itself until recently. The partnerships also send a clear message that Wegovy is now available in all doses after years of deficits. The news lifted up on Monday at the end of Novo Nordisk’s US traded shares, while Hims & HERS and Lifemd rose even more. But the momentum for Novo Nordisk is perhaps short -lived. Prescription data of the health analytical enterprise IQVIA, detected by Wall Street analysts, shows that the demand for Ozempic and Wegovy was largely flat to start the year, even though Eli Lilly’s zepbound rose. Telehealth partnerships may help with the margins, but patients and doctors are increasingly moving to Zepbound due to its higher effectiveness. Zepbound also has a stable supply chain, and Lilly was faster to perform retail and telehealth partnerships. In fact, Lilly has a partnership with RO at the end of 2024, months before Novo Nordisk. “Sometimes it’s the story of the turtle and the rabbit,” Evan Sigerman, BMO Capital Markets analyst, wrote earlier this month when he downgraded Novo Nordisk shares to perform. “While Novo had the lead with the approval of Semaglutide, we believe that this first lead benefit weakened, with Lilly’s Tirzepatide who participated quickly,” he wrote with reference to the active ingredients in Wegovy and Zepbound, respectively. Recent US prescription data shows Zepbound with more than 50% of the total prescriptions in the GLP-1 fat market and grows faster than Wegovy. In the past two weeks, as prescription volumes have remained slow, analysts have reduced sales of the first quarter for Wegovy by about 5%, according to Factset. The attention of investors will turn to Lilly’s earnings on Thursday, followed by Novo Nordisk’s report next week. In recent years, Novo Nordisk has built up a reputation to consistently increase its lead, thanks to Ozempic and Wegovy’s performance. But there is, however, a growing risk that it may need to reduce its revenue prospects, which currently calls for a 16% to 24% growth. The diverse trajectories are clearly reflected in the share prices of the businesses. After years of rise in tandem, Lilly shares are higher by 15% this year, while Novo Nordisk’s fell by 24%. Being second place in the largest medicine category in history is hardly a failure. But the bigger concern is that Novo Nordisk is not just chasing Lilly in injectable things – it also has a clear answer to Lilly’s promising oral pipeline. On Thursday, Lilly is expected to give an update on the experimental once-day GLP-1 pill, Orforglipron. Earlier this month, the company said the drug reached its goals in a late stage trial, which helps patients of diabetes lose weight. Several studies are expected to be released in the coming months. If successful, Orforglipron can be introduced as soon as 2026, with analysts predicting the annual sales of a multibillion dollar. Right now, Novo Nordisk seems to have an answer. For Novo Nordisk is Telehealth Access Progress. But in this market, access alone will not win the war. Write to David Wainer at david.wainer@wsj.com, catch all the corporate news and updates on live mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates and live business news. More Topics #Pharma #News Mint Specials