21st Century Business Herald reporter Ji Yuanyuan reports from Shanghai
Recently, the first injectable version of Smegglutide for long-term weight management, Novoying&Co., Ltd; reg; Finally, it was approved in China, but soon after the drug was approved, there were rumors that the drug would be restricted from being sold in the Chinese market.
On the evening of June 27th, it was reported in the market that Mazier Mike Dousdar, the head of international business at Novo Nordisk, announced that the company will limit the sales of its heavyweight weight loss version of Wegovy (product name: Novo Nordisk) in China to prevent the influx of Chinese patients from leading to insufficient drug supply in other parts of the world.
Regarding this news, 21st Century Business Herald reporters immediately verified the relevant personnel of Novo Nordisk. The other party stated that they have made promises and made profits; reg; From the date of approval, the company has officially launched the relevant process of drug supply according to the plan, and will bring this heavyweight product into the Chinese market as soon as possible, benefiting obese patients.
"There is a significant unmet medical demand in the field of obesity treatment. As Novo Nordisk serves an increasing number of patients, our GLP-1 injection product portfolio is facing huge market demand. In China, we will supply Novo Nordisk 'products in a carefully planned manner after they are launched, based on the principle of patient responsibility, to ensure the continuity of patients' medication, that is, to ensure that patients who have already started treatment can continue to receive treatment." Novo Nordisk stated.
Novo Nordisk further told 21st Century Business Herald reporters that currently, Novo Nordisk is; reg; Listed in over 10 countries worldwide. To meet the needs of patients, the company is working hard to increase the supply of GLP-1 class drugs. "We will responsibly distribute our existing product supply in the global market, adhere to consistent standards, and focus on ensuring patient medication continuity and access to innovative drugs."
Smeaglutide has always been regarded as the "magic drug" for weight loss. Tesla CEO Elon Musk's "planting grass" once made Smeaglutide the "popular Crispy fried chicken" in the weight loss industry, which is also due to the considerable weight loss effect of the drug. According to public information, as the world's first and currently the only weekly preparation of glucagon like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) used for long-term weight management, Novo&Young&Co; reg; Can achieve an average weight loss of 17% (16.8kg). Nuohe Ying; reg; Suitable for long-term weight management of adult patients based on controlling diet and increasing physical activity, with an initial body mass index (BMI) that meets the following conditions: ≥ 30kg/m& sup2; (Obesity), or ≥ 27kg/m& sup2; To< 30kg/m& sup2; (Overweight) and the presence of at least one weight related comorbidities, such as hyperglycemia, hypertension, dyslipidemia, obstructive sleep apnea, or cardiovascular disease.
For Nuohe Ying& reg; After being approved, a pharmaceutical industry analyst from a securities firm told 21st Century Business Herald that currently, GLP-1 drugs represented by Nordisk and Nordsmiglutide have achieved great success in the field of weight loss. As the weight loss market continues to heat up, it is estimated that by 2024, the sales of Smeglutide will exceed $28 billion, which may surpass Keytruda and become the new champion of global drug sales.
"After the announcement of the domestic launch of the slimming version of Smegglutide Injection, based on the strong demand in the Chinese market, pharmaceutical companies need to mainly adopt strategies such as expanding internal production capacity, outsourcing production to CDMO, and acquiring production capacity to strengthen product market supply." The above analyst emphasized.
In terms of capacity expansion, Novo Nordisk announced an investment of DKK 42 billion (approximately USD 6 billion) in November 2023 to expand the production capacity of the weight loss drug Wegovy and other drugs. In addition, even more significant is the acquisition of global CDMO giant Catalent by Novo Holdings, which controls Novo Nordisk, for $16.5 billion in cash. As part of the transaction, Novo Nordisk will acquire Catalent's three filling factories and related assets in Italy, Belgium, and Indiana, USA for a prepayment of $11 billion.
Recently, Novo Nordisk said that it would continue to invest 4.1 billion dollars to build a new factory for the production of smeglutide for weight loss and diabetes. The factory is located in Clayton Park, North Carolina, USA, covering an area of 1.4 million square feet. This expenditure is part of Novo Nordisk's $6.8 billion manufacturing investment plan at the beginning of the year.
Novo Nordisk already has two factories in North Carolina with 2500 employees. With this expansion, Novo Nordisk plans to add another 1000 employees. Novo Nordisk stated that there will be around 2000 suppliers during the peak period of the construction project, and the phased construction will be completed between 2027 and 2029.