Novo Nordisk urges caution on Wegovy prescriptions ahead of German debut

By Ludwig Burger

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Novo Nordisk on Friday urged doctors in Germany to limit prescriptions of its popular Wegovy weight-loss drug to patients with medical needs, citing limited supplies as the company prepares to launch in Europe's largest pharmaceutical market.

The Danish drugmaker said Wegovy would cost 301.91 euros ($338) for four weeks of treatment at the highest dose in Germany, its third European market after Norway, where it is cheaper, and Denmark, where it is slightly more expensive.

Production problems and Novo Nordisk's struggle to keep up with overwhelming demand in the United States, by far its largest market, have led to a slower-than-expected roll out of Wegovy in Europe.

A lot of the surging demand is driven by non-obese people who want to shed extra pounds, including celebrities eager to make that known on social media.

Novo, which will launch the weekly injection in Germany at the end of this month, said in a statement pharmacies would be able to place orders with wholesale distributors from next week.

"Given the expected high demand and a limited supply, we ask physicians to prescribe responsibly," Novo said, urging them to prioritise patients with a body mass index of at least 30, or 27 for those suffering from a chronic condition, as defined by EU regulators in their market clearance early last year.

Novo declined to specify dedicated volumes but the company told Reuters this week that German and U.S. demand would not compete for the same production volumes because different pre-filled injection pens will be deployed.

SEEKING WEGOVY

Germany's health system is among the most restrictive in Europe when it comes to reimbursement of weight-loss drugs, as only people who pay from their own pocket or have certain private health insurance plans will be able to get it.

While a government-administered system of statutory health plans that cover about 90% of Germans bans payment for weight-loss drugs, policies vary at private insurers covering the remaining 10%.

For instance, major insurer Allianz said it would pay for Wegovy whereas unlisted rival Debeka said it has a policy of not paying for weight-loss treatments.

In Europe, Wegovy has thus far been only available in Norway and Denmark, where a four-week supply of the maintenance dose costs 2,775.30 Norwegian crowns ($278) and 2,370.60 Danish crowns ($357), respectively.

The German price was unlikely to deter patients, said Jodok Fink, who performs gastric bypass and other weight-loss surgeries at Freiburg university hospital.

"More and more of my patients have been asking about Wegovy,” he told Reuters, adding though that the most severe cases of obesity would still require surgery.

The list price for four weeks of Wegovy in the United States is about $1,350, but effective prices for patients there are governed by a complex set of coupons and rebates.

The starter dose of 0.25 milligram will be priced in Germany at 171.92 euros for 28 days. The dosage of the weekly Wegovy injection is gradually stepped up over 16 weeks to level off at the maintenance dose of 2.4 milligrams.

People in Germany with a prescription will likely be able to fill it at a pharmacy at the end of this month, Novo added.

($1 = 0.8923 euros)

($1 = 9.9978 Norwegian crowns)

($1 = 6.6389 Danish crowns)

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Additional reporting by Maggie Fick in London and Victoria Klesty in Oslo; Editing by Friederike Heine and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)