Ole Schwander
Novo Nordisk (NVO) is reportedly aiming to launch its next-generation obesity drugs Cagrisema and amycretin ahead of the expected expiration of a key patent for its popular weight-loss drug Wegovy.
Novo Nordisk management said in an interview with Reuters that the company intends to develop amycretin, a new GLP-1-based drug in early-stage development, before the end of the decade. The company also hopes to launch Cagrisema, which contains the GLP-1 drug semaglutide, for both conditions in two years.
Semaglutide belongs to a class of drugs called GLP-1s, which are used for diabetes and weight loss. Novo Nordisk markets semaglutide under the name Wegovy for weight loss and Ozempic for diabetes. Other GLP-1 drugs currently on the market include Eli Lilly’s (LLY) Zepbound and Mounjaro.
A key US patent for Wegovy is expected to expire in 2032, Reuters reported last month, citing the company’s annual report.
Novo Nordisk added that it expects Casgrisema and amycretin to both been shown to be more effective in achieving weight loss than Wegovy, with similar cardiac benefits, Reuters added.
The company also said that it doesn’t see generic competitors easily putting out rival products once semaglutide’s patent expires.
“We believe it will be difficult for others to scale to the level we are currently scaling for semaglutide and that basically means that even with the patent expiry, we could still serve a lot of patients with semaglutide and complement with even more efficacious products like Cagrisema and amycretin,” Novo Nordisk’s research head, Martin Lange, told Reuters.
Shares of Novo Nordisk hit an all-time high on Thursday after the company released positive early-stage clinical data on amycretin in the treatment of obesity.
Other companies with GLP-1 drugs in development include AstraZeneca (AZN), Amgen (AMGN), Pfizer (PFE), Viking Therapeutics (VKTX), Tern Pharmaceuticals (TERN) and Structure Therapeutics (GPCR).
