Wegovi, the maker of the popular weight-loss drug. Said Wednesday it is ramping up production of the drug. Which is in short supply at pharmacies across the United States.
The drug faced massive shortages . last year due to its growing popularity, executives at drugmaker Novo . Nordisk said in a call with investors on Wednesday.
Novo Nordisk said on Dec. 28 that all doses of the drug would be available again after . The supply problem, but added that it could take time for the drug to reach . Pharmacies from distribution centers.
There continues to be “pent up demand” for Wegovi, but Novo Nordisk expects that to become . less of a problem as more supplies of the drug become available in the coming months, Jorgensen said.
“We’re encouraged by . The trendline we see, but there will be a normalization of it,” he said.
Wegovi, or semaglutide, is part of a class of drugs called GLP-1 agonists. They mimic a hormone that helps reduce food intake and curb hunger. In clinical trials, Wegovy has been shown to reduce body by about 15%.
The drug is expensive, costing about $1,300 per month, and insurance companies often don’t cover it.
Wegovi shortages have forced some . People in the United States to stop taking it, causing them to regain some — or all — of their weight.
Others have prescribed . Ozempic off-label for weight loss, leading to shortages of that drug.
Doug Langa, head of Novo Nordisk’s . North American operations, noted on the call the difficulty patients . Have had in finding the drug, but added that the company is now . looking forward” to the drug becoming more available.
