The pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly & Co introduced the drug Zepbound, also known as Mounjaro. It may be more effective for weight loss than Ozempic and Wegovy from the Danish corporation Novo Nordisk. However, Novo Nordisk is already testing a new medicine that can help you lose at least 25% of your weight.
This is reported by Bloomberg.
Other manufacturers also create injections and pills that are easier to take. The price of semaglutide in the US will change next year, and the European patent will expire in 2031. In China, semaglutide is legal until 2026. According to the publication, manufacturers from the PRC already want to enter the market with generics.
In order not to lose leadership in the industry, Novo Nordisk produced the compound kagrilintide. Semaglutide, which slows the movement of food through the digestive system by mimicking the hormone GLP-1, and cagrilintide together form the CagriSema hybrid. This method of treating excess weight can become the most effective and at the same time does not cause more side effects than the drug Wegovy.
Novo Nordiskʼs experts suggested that the combination could even prevent the so-called yo-yo effect, where people regain the weight they lost once they stop taking the drug. They are also studying whether CagriSema can treat type 2 diabetes.
- The main task of Ozempic is to reduce the level of sugar and hemoglobin in the blood of patients with type 2 diabetes. The drug also slows down the development of chronic kidney disease and reduces the amount of fat in the liver.
- However, Novo Nordiskʼs development gained popularity due to its effectiveness for weight loss. In March 2024, Ozempic and Wegovy began to disappear en masse from the shelves of pharmacies, despite the high price. A monthʼs supply of Wegovy costs over $1 300, while Ozempic costs about $900. They began to be used not only by people who suffered from obesity, but also by those who wanted to quickly lose a few kilograms. Novo Nordisk drugs have become scarce.
- In June of the same year, the World Health Organization reported that in some countries, counterfeit drugs of the Danish corporation for diabetes are being distributed.
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