Maggie Fick And Patrick WingroveLONDON/NEW YORK - As Eli Lilly's weight-loss drug Zepbound gains ground in the U.S. against Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, some doctors say their guiding principle for writing prescriptions is simple: which drug can my patients actually get at the pharmacy?
"The reality we live in right now is that we are beholden to these supply issues," said Dr. Eduardo Grunvald, an obesity medicine physician at University of California, San Diego. “While we will do our best to support those who want to start taking Wegovy, it is important to recognize that overall demand will continue to exceed supply and some patients may still have difficulty filling Wegovy prescriptions,” Novo said in an update on its website.
Both companies have announced plans to spend billions of dollars to boost manufacturing by expanding factories, building or buying new ones and seeking more deals with contract drug manufacturers. Since the beginning of this year's second quarter, the Danish drugmaker has filled an average of nearly 170,000 U.S. Wegovy prescriptions per week. Indianapolis-based Lilly has filled an average of just under 100,000, according to weeks of IQVIA data reported by analysts.
The market landscape also would change if companies can introduce more effective or convenient versions of these weight-loss drugs, such as a pill that works as well as injections, they said.