Alternatives to costly Wegovy and Saxenda will make such treatments more widely available worldwide
edicines that enable dramatic weight loss are set to experience a new boom in uptake, experts have said, as the first generic versions hit the market this week at a lower cost than the original drugs.They include Wegovy and Saxenda, which are licensed for weight loss, and Ozempic and Victoza which are licensed for type 2 diabetes but are often prescribed “off-label” as a weight-loss aid. All four mimic a gut hormone called GLP-1 and are produced by the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk.
But this is only the beginning, with Ozempic and Wegovy both losing patent protection in China in 2026, in Europe and Japan in 2031, and in the US in 2032. “The current market is largely private via patients who are self-paying,” he said. “The cost of the patented medicine is often prohibitive for the NHS, so it has been sparingly prescribed by clinicians. However, the onset of generic competition will likely significantly reduce the price, and this means the NHS can afford to treat more patients.
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has defended the use of patents as being vital to health breakthroughs. While generic forms of Victoza are appearing this month, Yeo said the big turning point will be when semaglutide – the active ingredient of both Ozempic and Wegovy – can be made as a generic. “A powerful drug will then be available to the vast majority of the world, which would be amazing,” he said.
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