Emmanuel Thomas, DPA, Saturday, June 24, 2023
FRANKFURT – The weight-loss drug Wegovy, which has caused quite a stir on social media, is to be available in Germany in just over a month, the head of the Danish drug manufacturer Novo Nordisk has said.
“In Germany we want to launch it at the end of July,” the Novo Nordisk chief, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, told the Sunday edition of the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in comments seen in advance by dpa.
Wegovy was approved in the European Union at the beginning of 2022. Its active ingredient, semaglutide, is intended to support weight loss and weight control when coupled with diet and exercise.
It is intended for people who are obese and for people who are overweight with at least one weight-related disease.
The drug is administered once a week and patients can inject themselves.
Wegovy has been hyped on social media because some celebrities report having lost weight using the drug, including tech billionaire Elon Musk, who mentioned using the drug in addition to fasting when asked about the secret of his slimmed-down appearance.
Novo Nordisk’s share price has risen by more than 40% within a year, and the company is now valued at about €250 billion ($273 billion), making it one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.
To date, Novo Nordisk has been selling the drug in the United States, Denmark and Norway, Jørgensen said. In the US, the cost of one month’s treatment is $1,300.
