Compounding Novo Nordisk slashes Wegovy gross sales forecasts, blames compounding. : Photographs

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/8667x5768+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F90%2Ffc%2F9732488e4c5ba3677c12f90dd4b9%2Fgettyimages-2150032381.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/8667x5768+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F90%2Ffc%2F9732488e4c5ba3677c12f90dd4b9%2Fgettyimages-2150032381.jpg" class="img" alt="CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - APRIL 24: In this photo illustration, the injectable weight-loss medication Wegovy is available at New City Halstead Pharmacy on April 24, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. More than 3 million people with Medicare could be eligible for the difficult-to-find and expensive weight-loss drug under new guidance which can cover the medication for patients who are obese or those who have a history of heart disease and are at risk of a heart attack or stroke. (Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images)" fetchpriority="high"/> Novo Nordisk lowered its gross sales forecast for weight problems drug Wegovy, citing competitors from compounded variations. Scott Olson/Getty Pictures disguise caption

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Scott Olson/Getty Pictures Novo Nordisk's shares plunged greater than 20% Tuesday, after the corporate minimize the forecast for its flagship weight problems drug.

Earlier than the markets opened, the corporate introduced that gross sales of its weight problems drugs, Wegovy, are anticipated to develop not more than 14% this yr. That is down from its prediction of as much as 21% on Could 7.

The corporate blames cheaper options made by compounding pharmacies, that are allowed to make what are primarily copies of medicine after they're in brief provide. Wegovy and Ozempic, a diabetes drug typically prescribed for weight reduction, had been on the Meals and Drug Administration's drug scarcity listing, paving the way in which for a increase in compounded variations.

The FDA dominated that the scarcity of Wegovy was over earlier this yr. However some compounders are testing the authorized panorama. They're customizing weight problems medicine for sufferers by including nutritional vitamins or tweaking doses.

Novo Nordisk says it's "pursuing a number of" methods to finish the apply, "together with litigation."

Compounding pharmacies sometimes assist sufferers whose wants aren't met by current permitted medicine. The compounded medicine should not generics, nor do they undergo the FDA's approval course of. As an alternative, compounding pharmacists tailor medicine for particular person sufferers who want them and are principally regulated on the state degree by boards of pharmacy.

As an example, if a drug is barely accessible as a tablet however an aged affected person cannot swallow one, a physician may write a prescription so {that a} compounding pharmacist may put together it in liquid type.

Novo Nordisk additionally introduced a brand new CEO Tuesday, Maziar Mike Doustdar, who has been on the firm for 33 years. He'll succeed Lars Jorgensen, whose departure was introduced in Could.

"Now, the truth that my announcement comes proper after the steerage replace, properly, it simply makes the mandate forward much more clear," Doustdar instructed buyers on a Tuesday morning name, promising effectivity, progress and shareholder worth.

However Scott Brunner, CEO of the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding, says Novo Nordisk and its competitor Eli Lilly have misrepresented compounding pharmacists.

"GLP1 compounding is demonstrably not unlawful – although one can argue that saying so provides Novo a helpful excuse for having to chop its earnings forecast," he wrote in an emailed assertion to NPR. "Customized compounded drugs are allowed underneath the Meals, Drug, & Beauty Act when a prescriber judges {that a} customized formulation, which isn't accessible commercially, will make a big distinction for a specific affected person. That authority applies to any drug that meets the factors for compounding, not simply GLP1s."

Well being economist Rena Conti says Novo Nordisk's state of affairs is "not shocking."

"Compounding gross sales have elevated dramatically this yr as compound pharmacies have [undertaken] aggressive advertising and marketing and different strategies to extend earnings," says Conti, a professor at Boston College.

She says that Novo Nordisk's competitor, Eli Lilly, which makes Zepbound, has additionally been gaining new prospects by promoting discounted vials on to shoppers who aren't utilizing their insurance coverage. It has transformed them from utilizing the compounded variations to the model.

Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks instructed NPR in March that each month, roughly 100,000 folks purchase Zepbound straight from Eli Lilly by way of its web site.

Novo Nordisk's effort to promote Wegovy on to shoppers paying money hasn't been as profitable as anticipated, the corporate mentioned.

"As unsafe and illegal mass compounding continues, the Wegovy penetration inside the money channel has been lower-than-expected," Novo Nordisk mentioned in its Tuesday morning assertion. "Inside this channel, NovoCare Pharmacy was launched in March 2025. Wegovy prescriptions through NovoCare Pharmacy (together with TeleHealth collaborations) quantity to round 11,000 complete weekly prescriptions, along with round 20,000 weekly prescriptions within the retail money channel."