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The two companies have emerged as the dominant powers in the weight-loss drug frenzy that has swept up consumers and riveted Wall Street. Both companies fielded questions from financial analysts about their progress in meeting demand, which has exceeded their capacity and prompted the Food and Drug Administration to designate them as drugs in short supply.
Novo executives said Thursday that the company still isn’t able to fully meet demand for Wegovy, an anti-obesity drug, and it will continue to limit beginning doses to ensure adequate supply for existing patients.
“In 2024, we will be delivering significant step-up in volumes to the U.S.,” Karsten Munk Knudsen, Novo’s chief financial officer, said of Wegovy on the company’s earnings call.
Lilly has ramped up the supply of Mounjaro, helped by a new manufacturing facility in North Carolina that came online this year, and all strengths of the drug are listed as available on FDA’s drug shortage database.
“This is really all hands on deck,” David Ricks, Lilly’s chief executive, said on the company’s earnings call Thursday. “We’re not at all happy with the capacity we’ve announced already,” he said, adding, “you’ll see more.”
Ozempic and Mounjaro, while chemically different, help regulate blood sugar as well as slow the stomach from emptying. This sends a signal of fullness to the brain and has helped overweight patients lose 15 to 20 percent of their body weight.
In igniting the boom in appetite-suppressing drugs, Lilly and Novo are also under pressure to expand the market for their products as they face rising competition from drugmakers developing their own novel versions.
Novo is evaluating how semaglutide — the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy — affects conditions from osteoarthritis to alcohol abuse. In October, the company halted a clinical trial early using semaglutide to treat chronic kidney failure, because interim results showed such effectiveness. Novo is also seeking to expand the FDA label for Wegovy to include cardiovascular benefits after a study found it sharply reduced the risk of heart problems for overweight patients.
Lilly is continuing to evaluate the effects of higher doses of tirzepatide — the main ingredient in Mounjaro — while seeking FDA approval of the drug to treat obesity. It also has two other weight-loss candidates in late-stage trials, including an oral version.
Executives of both companies expressed optimism about insurers covering weight-loss drugs, a key element in expanding patient access — and their revenue.
“In our conversations with payers, while they’re concerned about the short-term budget impact, they do understand that losing weight will have benefits,” said Mike Mason, an executive vice president at Lilly. “It’s not that hard of a sell.”
Doug Langa, Novo’s head of North American operations, said most pharmacy-benefit managers and health plans are covering Wegovy. While some employers have opted out, he said, “we’re seeing overall more opt-ins than opt-outs.”
Lilly’s share price was up 5 percent in early trading Thursday and has gained about 60 percent so far this year, giving the company a stock-market value of roughly $550 billion — the largest among U.S. drugmakers. Novo shares were up about 4 percent Thursday and have increased nearly 50 percent this year.
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