After US Launch Bottlenecks, Novo Nordisk Pushes European Rollout For Wegovy In 2023

Novo Nordisk A/S NVO will roll out its obesity treatment, Wegovy (semaglutide), in Europe in 2023 to ensure it has enough supply.
Following the launch in the U.S. in mid-2021, Wegovy faced a significant bottleneck. Catalent Inc CTLT received an FDA write-up for its syringe filling facility in Belgium, "allegedly" the culprit behind the supply shortage for Wegovy.
Bloomberg reported that the pharma company had plans to launch Wegovy in the summer of this year in the U.K., with the rest of Europe by the end of 2022.
In March this year, Novo more than doubled its target for sales of obesity drugs by 2025 after overwhelming demand for its new Wegovy drug.
Novo Nordisk aims to generate annual obesity drug sales of more than DKK25 billion by 2025.
Wegovy has enjoyed as it became the first slimming prescription medicine in seven years. In the U.K. alone, the cost of obesity is estimated at £9.7 billion ($11.9 billion) by 2050, Novo Nordisk estimates.
The company had a breakthrough with Wegovy, released in the U.S. in June 2021, and helped achieve a weight loss of 17% on average over almost two years.
In November, Novo Nordisk announced its plans to invest DKK 5.4 billion to expand its facilities in Bagsvaerd, Denmark.
Price Action: NVO shares are down 0.27% at $129.46 during the premarket session on the last check Tuesday.