Ozempic revolutionized the world’s weight loss medicine market. Although it is indicated for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, the medication became famous for its weight loss effect.
The pen began to be sold at the beginning of 2019 in Brazil and, since then, similar treatments have been approved that promise even more pronounced weight loss, such as Wegovy, also from Novo Nordisk, and Mounjaro, from Eli Lilly.
However, although they are already authorized for sale by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), none of these medications have been put on sale here and anyone interested in using them needs to resort to imports, which increase the cost of treatment to up to R$ 10 thousand monthly.
Endocrinologist Deborah Beranger, from Rio de Janeiro, states that there is great expectation for the medications, since overweight and obesity have increased among the population. “They prolong satiety signals in the intestine and brain, which facilitates dietary moderation. The expectation of being able to use them, especially for patients with obesity, is high”, she points out.
See what is known about the availability of these medications in Brazil:
Generic Ozempic
The Brazilian pharmaceutical company Biomm closed a contract with the Indian Biocon at the beginning of this month to sell a generic of Ozempic, however, neither company has a technology similar to semaglutide, meaning it will be necessary to wait for the patent to fall in 2026 for the medicine to be released. reach the market.
Biomm CEO, Heraldo Marchezini, said that a new factory destined for the production of generic Ozempic is being opened this Friday (26/4). But for now, the plant will only produce insulin glargine.
“With few investments, it will be able to start producing Ozempic generics. We believe that the expiration of the patent will lead to market growth, a drop in price and, most importantly, greater access for patients to the medicine”, stated the executive.
Semaglutide pens are indicated for the treatment of diabetes and, depending on the dose, obesity, and are respectively sold as Ozempic and Wegovy
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Ozempic’s drop in lean mass worries older users
They work by imitating hormones that regulate blood sugar and also reduce appetite
reproduction
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The weight loss effect led to the medication being used “off label”
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Wegovy
Wegovy has the same active ingredient as Ozempic but in a higher dosage. The use of medication against obesity was approved in Brazil in January 2023 and, at the time, the manufacturer announced that it would be available on the market later that year.
The promise was not fulfilled and now Novo Nordisk is no longer talking about a deadline for making the weight loss pen available in Brazil. In a statement, the company said that “there is still no forecast for arrival on the Brazilian market”.
In September last year, the CEO of Novo Nordisk, Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, admitted in an interview with CNN Internacional that the company is unable to produce enough medicines to meet global demand.
“I have a feeling that it could take a few years before we meet the demand that already exists for our medicines. In fact, we don’t even know how big this demand might be, as many people with obesity want to receive treatment,” said Jorgensen.
Mounjaro
In the case of Mounjaro, there is no plan from pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly to bring it to Brazil either. It was approved for sale in Brazil in September 2023. It has similar indications for use as Ozempic, for the control of type 2 diabetes, but the active ingredient also leads to weight loss.
In a note to Metropolises, the company recognized “that people living with metabolic diseases have many unmet needs.” However, he said that “there is no forecast for the arrival of Mounjaro (tirzepatide) on the national market”.
New medicines
All pharmaceutical companies contacted state that they are investing in research and are looking for new treatment possibilities for metabolic diseases and obesity. Among the bets for the future is amicretin, produced by Novo Nordisk (with an estimated weight loss in initial tests of 13% of body mass in 12 weeks) and retatrutida, from Eli Lilly (with an average weight loss of 17% in 40 weeks).
These active ingredients are currently being researched, but they have not yet been approved by international regulatory agencies nor have they been produced on an industrial scale, which makes their practical effects for the Brazilian population even further away on the horizon.
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