Wegovy arrives at pharmacies in 2024 and will cost up to R$ 2,484 – 07/18/2023 – Equilíbrio

Wegovy, the first weekly injection for the treatment of obesity approved by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency), should only reach pharmacies in the country in 2024, according to the manufacturer Novo Nordisk.

In larger doses, the drug will cost up to R$ 2,484 in states where the ICMS (Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services) is 21%, such as Piauí. In São Paulo, the drug should reach R$ 2,383, since the state rate is 18%.

The previous forecast indicated that the drug would be available in the second half of 2023.

The drug for obesity is based on semaglutide, the same compound used in Ozempic, an injectable drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes that became popular after testimonials on social networks indicated weight loss in a short time.

The high demand for the drug indicated for diabetes caused problems in its supply. The drugmaker announced in June that all doses would have “intermittent availability” through the end of 2023 due to higher-than-expected demand.

In an earlier question of Sheet about the relationship between drug shortages and its use for weight loss, the company replied that “it is not possible to track the purpose of using the product by the patient”. But he stressed that he does not encourage the use for treatment of something that is not on the package leaflet.

The Danish drugmaker has struggled to keep up with the high demand for the drug in American and European pharmacies. Ahead of the launch of Wegovy in Germany, scheduled for later this month, Novo Nordisk asked physicians in the country to limit prescriptions to patients with medical needs.

“Given the expected high demand and limited supply, we urge physicians to prescribe responsibly,” it said in a statement on Friday.

Semaglutide, the drug’s active ingredient, is an analogue of the hormone GLP-1 and, in this way, manages to reduce the amount of sugar in the blood and informs the user’s brain that he is already satisfied and not hungry.

In Ozempic the maximum dose of the compound available is 1 mg. In Wegovy, the highest dosage will be 2.4 mg.

The medications have different purposes, but both are indicated for adults over 18 years old. Despite the same active principle, only Wegovy has approval to be used against obesity and overweight in the country.

Clinical studies submitted to Anvisa for authorization of Wegovy showed an average reduction of 17.4% in body weight in patients after about 24 months of continuous use. About 4,500 people of different nationalities participated in the work.

Ozempic, in turn, promoted an average loss of 15% in patients with diabetes after 18 months of use.

With information from Reuters