raised its 2024 outlook on Thursday and delivered better-than-expected first-quarter profits as the Danish drugmaker races to boost output of its Wegovy weight-loss drug and fend off competition from rival Eli Lilly
The company is spending billions to boost its manufacturing capacity to meet runaway demand for the weekly Wegovy injection. It increased the amount of Wegovy for the U.S. market in the first quarter, CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen told a media call. In January, Novo said it was more than doubling supply of lower strength or “starter” Wegovy doses in the U.S. that month compared with recent ones. Still, shortages in the U.S. persist.The company is facing fierce competition from U.S. rival Eli Lilly as it rolls out its Zepbound therapy in new markets. It launched in the United States in December and in Germany, Poland and Britain this year.
Though Novo is gradually supplying more Wegovy doses to the U.S., “demand will be higher than supply for quite a period of time,” Knudsen said. Knudsen told Reuters: “Our best estimate is unchanged, that the deal closes toward the end of this year”.