STAT+: Pharmalittle: We're reading about compounded Wegovy, pharmacies suing GoodRx, and more

Hello, everyone, and how are you today? We are doing just fine, thank you, especially since the middle of the week is upon us. Regardless of elections, we generally see the proverbial glass as half full. For those of you who worry the sky is falling, we will pass along something learned on Wall Street: “Sell sky.” After all, we have made it this far, so we are determined to hang on for another couple of days. And why not? The alternatives — at least those we can identify — are not so appetizing. And what better way to make the time fly than to keep busy. So grab that cup of stimulation and get started. Our flavor today is butter pecan, for those tracking our habits. Now, though, the time has come to get cracking. So please grab your own cup and dig in to the items of interest assembled below. We hope you have a wonderful day, and please do keep in touch. We enjoy your insights and perspectives. …

Novo Nordisk disclosed that it is aware of 10 deaths and 100 hospitalizations resulting from people taking compounded copies of its weight loss and diabetes drugs, Reuters writes. U.S. regulations allow compounding pharmacies to copy brand-name medicines that are in short supply by combining, mixing, or altering drug ingredients to meet demand. Novo Nordisk’s popular weight loss injection Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic, both known chemically as semaglutide, were until recently in shortage in the U.S. Given all the U.S. regulatory surveillance of Novo Nordisk’s production of the two drugs, chief executive officer Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen said it was puzzling that people in the U.S. could inject themselves with a product that was not regulated, approved, or inspected. Last month, Novo Nordisk asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ban compounding pharmacies from making copycat versions of Wegovy and Ozempic, which it said were too complex for those manufacturers to produce safely.

Sales of Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug Wegovy jumped in the third quarter, as the company reported quarterly profits that were in line with analyst expectations, STAT notes. Novo’s third quarter performance will be seen as a win for the company, particularly after Eli Lilly — its rival in the booming obesity drug market — last week reported earnings that missed forecasts. Quarterly profits reached $4.88 billion, while Wegovy sales reached $2.5 billion. Overall, the obesity care business was up 44%. The vast majority of Wegovy sales were recorded in the U.S., where Novo Nordisk said increased volumes and formulary access had combined to offset lower prices. Weekly prescriptions of the drug are now running at 215,000, compared to around 100,000 at the start of the year.

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