Interface News reporter |
Interface News Editor |Xie Xin
On March 7 local time, Novo Nordisk held the "Capital Markets Day" (CMD) event. During the event, Novo Nordisk revealed that Wegovy is expected to be approved for marketing in China this year. Initially, the product will mainly target self-paying patients and will have quantity restrictions.
As of the U.S. stock market close on March 7, Novo Nordisk was trading at $135.92 per share, up 8.95%, with a market value reaching $606.6 billion. Since the beginning of 2024, Novo Nordisk's stock price has surged over 30%.
Wegovy is the brand name of Novo Nordisk's semaglutide developed for weight loss indications. It was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a weight loss drug in 2021 and is currently the most globally recognized weight loss drug product. In April 2021 and January this year, two other products of semaglutide — the injectable semaglutide solution Ozempic for type 2 diabetes and the oral semaglutide tablet Rybelsus — have been successively approved for marketing in China.
Currently, although semaglutide has not been approved for weight loss indications in China, its off-label use is widespread. After it is officially approved for weight loss, whether it can be sold正规ly according to the approved conditions and eliminate abuse remains to be seen.
Last month, Wegovy was officially approved in Japan, marking its first approval in an Asian country, after having been approved in eight other countries.
Novo Nordisk Earned Over $200 Billion in 2023 Solely from Semaglutide. However, Due to Production Capacity Limitations, Novo Nordisk Had to Restrict Supply in Multiple Regions. Industry Insiders Believe That Semaglutide Has Not Yet Realized Its Full Revenue Potential. To Address This, Novo Nordisk Has Expanded Operations Globally. In February This Year, Novo Nordisk Spent $10 Billion to Acquire Catalent (a Leading CDMO - Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization), Aiming to Boost Production Capacity for Diabetes and Weight-Loss Drugs.
Notably, Novo Nordisk's patent for semaglutide in China is set to expire in 2026 under normal circumstances. This means that Novo Nordisk's dominance of the semaglutide market in China will only last just over two more years. Currently, several pharmaceutical companies in China, including Hanyu Pharmaceutical, Lizhu Group, and Huadong Medicine, are already developing generic versions of semaglutide.
Moreover, at this Capital Markets Day event, Novo Nordisk also disclosed preliminary clinical trial results of its experimental weight-loss drug amycretin. Compared to Wegovy, amycretin demonstrated significantly greater weight loss effects during the 12-week trial, with an average weight reduction of 13.1%, while Wegovy's weight loss effect was approximately 6% over the same period. Additionally, Novo Nordisk is developing a GLP-1R/GIPR/amylin receptor tri-agonist, which is expected to enter clinical trials within the next year.
Moreover, Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen stated that the company is expanding its focus on diabetes, weight-loss therapies, and cardiovascular diseases. Jorgensen explained that cardiovascular disease was previously just "another serious chronic condition" in Novo Nordisk's strategy, but now the company has clearly defined it as one of the key areas.
This is related to the cardiovascular advantages shown by semaglutide in a trial last year. On August 9, 2023, Novo Nordisk announced on its official website that in the SELECT trial, semaglutide 2.4 mg reduced the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events by 20% in adult patients with overweight or obesity.