The chief executive of Novo Nordisk says patients have changed their perception of the company's weight-loss pill, which is spurring growth of the product and bodes well for future market launches.
The Danish drugmaker launched its Wegovy pill earlier this year in the U.S., making it the first weight-loss drug available in pill form to hit the market, offering a new way to administer obesity medication that had previously only been possible through a jab.
Sales of the pill have grown fast since the January U.S. launch, reaching over $625 million in U.S. sales during the third quarter, while recent launches in countries including the U.K., United Arab Emirates and Germany together added a further $182 million of sales in the quarter.
Combined, sales of the pill landed around $134 million higher than a FactSet analysts' poll had been expecting in the quarter, and Novo CEO Mike Doustdar said he thinks a large part of the pill's success is not only down to the amount of weight patients can lose, but also a change in how the pill is being viewed.
Speaking in an interview, Doustdar said that messaging around the Wegovy pill had been that while 17% weight loss was achievable, it wasn't very convenient to administer because you couldn't eat anything for 30 minutes after taking it.
By contrast, Eli Lilly's rival Foundayo obesity pill, which launched in the U.S. in April, can help patients lose around 12% of their weight but doesn't come with eating restrictions.
However, Doustdar said that patients generally aren't concerned by the eating restriction and are instead more focused on the higher weight loss and being able to continue taking other medications at the same time, which the Wegovy pill allows.
"Seven, eight months into it, the doctors and the patients are saying Novo's pill is more convenient," he said.
"And that is a surprise to the market because the definition of convenience is not waiting half an hour to take your food with the pill or not."
The Wegovy pill is currently available in eight markets, with recent launches in Mexico, Spain, France and Poland joining the U.S., U.K., UAE and Germany. Doustdar said in the interview that the next launch will either be in Australia or Israel.
The pill is expected to be available in at least 20 markets by the end of next year.
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