Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical giant, has seen its oral obesity treatment Wegovy (active ingredient: semaglutide) prescribed over 3,000 times in its first week on the U.S. market. Industry analysts view this initial performance as promising.
Reports from various news outlets on Monday cite data from market research firm IQVIA showing that Wegovy’s pill formulation received 3,071 prescriptions in its first four days at U.S. retail pharmacies. This figure likely underestimates actual demand, as it doesn’t account for prescriptions filled through the company’s online pharmacy.
Wegovy hit pharmacies nationwide on January 5. This groundbreaking medication, an oral glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist, received its first FDA approval on December 22 last year for weight loss and cardiovascular risk reduction.
The oral launch performance of Wegovy is on par with its rival, Eli Lilly’s injectable obesity treatment, Zepbound (tirzepatide). Zepbound saw 3,100 prescriptions in its first week, which skyrocketed to 8,000 in its second week.
While overall Wegovy prescriptions dipped slightly from the previous week, the oral formulation alone captured 1.3% of total prescriptions, indicating rapid market penetration. In its debut week, oral Wegovy became the second most prescribed GLP-1 medication, trailing only Lilly’s Zepbound.
This positive news sent Novo’s stock soaring on Wall Street. The company’s shares closed at $62.33 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, a dramatic 9.12% increase.