On January 31, Novo Nordisk released its 2023 Q4 and annual results. As a star product of Novo Nordisk, the total sales of semaglutide in 2023 have reached about 211$5.8 billion.
Specifically, the sales of ozempic (hypodermic injection for hypoglycemic preparations) in 2023 will be about 138US$8.9 billion, an increase of 60%; Rybelsus (oral formulation for hypoglycemic use) sales of about 27US$2.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 66%; The sales of Wegovy injection for obesity are about 454.8 billion US dollars, up 407% year-on-year. According to Novo Nordisk's financial report for the fourth quarter of 2023, Wegovy injection has been launched in the United States, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, and the market volume has expanded by 116% compared with 2022.
On January 26, the official website of the State Food and Drug Administration approved the listing of Novo Nordisk semaglutide tablets (Novo Xin).
The application scenario of weight loss is more extensive than that of blood sugar reduction, and the increase in sales of this weight loss drug also reflects that people's demand for weight loss is still relatively high. Coupled with its clinical trial effectiveness and high convenience and compliance, Wegovy will continue to receive high attention in the future. On February 1, Ding Sheng, former dean of the School of Pharmacy of Tsinghua University and director of the Global Health Drug R&D Center, told the reporter of the people's ** health client.
Zhang Yi, chief analyst of iiMedia Consulting, also said in an interview with the reporter of the People's ** Health Client that semaglutide is first a drug used to lower blood sugar, but its potential has become the focus of attention of pharmaceutical companies, and it is also the main growth point of the hypoglycemic drug market in the future. In recent years, the prevalence of smart phone live broadcast apps has greatly affected people's aesthetic standards, and the pursuit of the goal has boosted the further expansion of the drug market. ”
At present, only the subcutaneous injection formulation Ozempic and the oral preparation Rybelsus have been approved in China for type 2 diabetes**, and the use of Wegovy has not been approved in China. However, Ozempic and Rybelsus also have a clear weight loss effect, and in the first half of 2023, Ozempic will have more than 100 million yuan in terminal sales of online pharmacies in China. According to previous reports, many consumers buy drugs through informal channels or e-commerce, and there is a lack of a strict review process for prescriptions in the process.
Although semaglutide was approved by the US FDA for weight loss indications in June 2021, at the end of last year, many countries issued statements restricting the use of semaglutide ozempic, emphasizing that it can only be used in patients with type 2 diabetes or some patients with severe obesity. "At the end of the day, semaglutide is a prescription drug, and as a prescription drug, it cannot be purchased or used by consumers at will. And as a drug that has been on the market for a short time, its adverse reactions and adaptation to the population still need to be further studied and observed. Ding Sheng emphasized.
However, Ding Sheng also pointed out that off-label drug use is also a relatively common phenomenon in the medical field, and it cannot be strictly restricted and supervised in some scenarios. "At present, for the use of drugs such as semaglutide, it is still necessary to strengthen education to avoid its abuse in the ** scenario. ”