Danish pharma firm Novo Nordisk on Thursday said U.S. supplies of its popular obesity drug Wegovy will remain limited as it struggles to keep pace with soaring demand, raising its profit outlook for the year as drug companies jostle for a slice of the burgeoning weight-loss market.
An Ozempic (semaglutide) injection pen .
Novo Nordisk said it would continue to restrict supplies of Wegovy in the U.S. as it works to ramp up manufacturing capacity and keep pace with soaring demand.
The company throttled distribution of smaller starter doses of the drug—a weekly injection that has been hailed as a game changer for weight loss—in May in order to safeguard supplies for existing patients.
The drugmaker raised its profit and sales outlook for the coming year, an estimate it said accounts for anticipated periodic supply constraints and drug shortages.
For 2023, Novo said it now expects sales growth between 27% and 33% and operating profit growth between 31% and 37% at constant exchange rates.
Novo chief executive Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen told Bloomberg the company is rapidly working to scale up capacity for the drug and that he is “not concerned” over supply issues.
Shares in Novo were down 1.5% on Thursday morning.