Amid the Ozempic fever, the manufacturer’s profit soars by almost 30% in the 1st quarter | Business

A New Nordiskthe company responsible for manufacturing the Ozempic It’s from Wegovy (popular weight loss medicines), registered a net profit from US$3.65 billion, approximately R$18.9 billionin the first quarter of 2024.

With the results, Novo Nordisk revised and increased its forecasts. The company believes that revenue will rise between 19 and 27% in 2024, against the forecast of between 18 and 26% announced in January, reported the AFP news agency.

Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, president of the company, said, in a report, that the group intends to increase its production. “The agreement to acquire three production facilities from Catalent (an American company) will allow us to serve significantly more people living with diabetes and obesity in the future,” he said.

The success of the medicines among the public pleases investors and boosts Novo Nordisk’s shares. The numbers draw attention:

• In 2024 so far, the company’s shares have already risen 26.54%;
• In the 12 months, the increase is 54.56%;
• In five years, Novo Nordisk shares have already soared 444.04%.

Despite the success of Ozempic and Wegovy, the pharmaceutical group has been facing a challenge in the first months of 2024: the drop in the prices of its medicines.

The company’s chief financial officer, Karsten Munk Knudsen, said at a press conference that drug prices have fallen in the United States, its main market, and that the company expects further falls throughout the year.

The reasons for this are mainly the increase in competition, while the volume of demand for this type of medicine grows.

For this reason, although sales of Ozempic and Wegovy increased by 42% and 106% in the quarter, respectively, growth was lower than expected.

As a result, Novo Nordisk shares experienced a negative day in this Thursday’s trading session. In the pre-market on the New York Stock Exchange, the company’s shares fell around 1.20%.

Ozempic is a medication originally developed to combat type 2 diabetes. However, as its side effect is appetite suppression, it began to be popularly used as an alternative for weight loss.

Wegovy was the first weekly injectable medication developed directly for the treatment of overweight and obesity.

The two medicines were approved and released in Brazil, by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa). However, while Ozempic is already sold in the country, Wegovy is expected to reach pharmacies in July this year.

Topic #930: Ozempic – the weight loss pen