(Reuters) – Two more doses of Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug, Wegovy, is now available, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s updated shortages list showed on Tuesday.
Several doses of Novo’s GLP-1 therapies such as diabetes drug Ozempic and Wegovy, both chemically known as semaglutide, have been on the U.S. health regulator’s shortage list since early 2022.
According to the FDA’s website, Wegovy’s smallest dose of 0.25 milligram (mg) is listed under limited availability, while all other doses are listed as available. All doses of Ozempic are available in the United States.
Surging demand for therapies like Wegovy and Ozempic has led the Danish drugmaker to ramp up supply. Eli Lilly, which makes rival drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound, has invested billions of dollars in boosting their production of these drugs.
Last week, all doses of Lilly’s weight-loss drug Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro were listed as available on the drug shortages list.
Originally developed for diabetes, GLP-1 therapies have shown to reduce weight by up to 20% in trials. Some analysts estimate that the market for these therapies could hit $150 billion in revenues by the early 2030s.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
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