Novo Nordisk, the maker of the blockbuster obesity injection, has singlehandedly saved the country from recession
from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry for two years, for “serious breaches” of the industry group’s code of practice, after a row over sponsored weight loss courses that promoted its medicines.
The craze for the drug, and the company’s equally popular diabetes medicine Ozempic, has been fuelled by Hollywood A-listers and other celebrities.: “Fasting + Ozempic/Wegovy + no tasty food near me.” Denmark has no shortage of multinationals: they include toymaker Lego, brewer Carlsberg and shipping group Maersk. But never before has one company been so dominant.
But the picture is less rosy elsewhere in the economy. The latest figures show that Danish gross domestic product grew by 1.7% year on year in the first half of 2023, but would have shrunk by 0.3% without pharmaceutical output, which makes up 5% of the economy.
Over the years, the group carved out a leading position in diabetes and weight loss medications. Its obesity drug Saxenda was approved in the US in 2014, while Ozempic was approved there in 2017, followed in 2021 by Wegovy – all of which have been flying off the shelves as alternatives to a gastric band. The company is working on a pill version of Wegovy.
The craze for the latest slimming drugs has knock-on effects for people such as Ian, 52, from Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset, who has been taking Ozempic since last year for type 2 diabetes. His diabetes is caused by steroids that he has to take because he has an autoimmune disease. His weight has gone down from 98kg to 94kg, but he is struggling to get hold of the drug because of the shortages, and cannot afford to buy it online for between £250 and £300 for a month’s supply.
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