The famed Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) expressed disappointment on Wednesday following a recommendation by the Dutch Health Care Institute advising the Netherlands government against including the company's popular weight-loss drug, Wegovy, in the basic insurance coverage.
The institute's recommendation, delivered on Tuesday, cited insufficient clarity on whether Wegovy's health benefits justify its costs.
Related: Bernie Sanders Targets High Prices of Ozempic and Wegovy In US.
Although Wegovy has proven effective for weight loss, the institute stressed the need for further research to determine the drug's comprehensive health effects.
With an estimated 4 million people in the Netherlands potentially benefiting from Wegovy, the institute projected that government expenses could escalate to approximately 1.3 billion euros ($1.42 billion).
Notably, Wegovy is not yet available for purchase in the Netherlands, as confirmed by Novo Nordisk.
Last year, Novo Nordisk submitted an application to Dutch authorities seeking insurance coverage for a limited patient group.
The institute also raised concerns about the global shortage of semaglutide, Wegovy's primary ingredient, which is crucial for diabetes treatment.
"These shortages emphasize the importance of critically weighing which people have the largest benefit from a medicine," it said.
"While we are pleased that the Dutch Health Care Institute recognizes the necessary role of medications in the fight against obesity as a chronic disease, we are obviously disappointed in their initial decision," Reuters report added, citing a Novo Nordisk spokesperson's email.
U.S. pharmacy claims data analysis reveals that only one in four patients prescribed Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drugs, Wegovy and Ozempic, continue their treatment after two years.
The data provided to Reuters highlights a significant decline in long-term adherence to these medications.
Price Action: NVO shares are down 4.29% at $134.82 at last check Wednesday.
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著名的丹麥製藥商諾和諾德A/S（紐約證券交易所代碼：NVO）週三表示失望，此前荷蘭醫療保健研究所建議荷蘭政府不要將該公司廣受歡迎的減肥藥物Wegovy納入基本保險。
該研究所週二發佈的建議指出，Wegovy的健康益處是否證明其成本合理尚不明確。
相關信息：伯尼·桑德斯的目標是美國Ozempic和Wegovy的價格居高不下。
儘管Wegovy已被證明對減肥有效，但該研究所強調需要進一步研究以確定該藥物對健康的全面影響。
據估計，荷蘭有400萬人可能從Wegovy中受益，該研究所預計政府支出可能會增加到約13歐元（合14.2億美元）。
值得注意的是，正如諾和諾德證實的那樣，Wegovy尚未在荷蘭上市。
去年，諾和諾德向荷蘭當局提交了一份申請，要求爲有限的患者群體提供保險。
該研究所還對西瑪魯肽全球短缺表示擔憂，西瑪魯肽是Wegovy的主要成分，對糖尿病治療至關重要。
它說：“這些短缺凸顯了嚴格權衡哪些人從藥物中受益最大的重要性。”
路透社援引諾和諾德發言人的電子郵件補充說：“儘管我們很高興荷蘭醫療保健研究所認識到藥物在對抗肥胖作爲一種慢性病方面的必要作用，但我們顯然對他們最初的決定感到失望。”
美國藥房聲稱數據分析顯示，只有四分之一的患者開了諾和諾德的減肥藥Wegovy和Ozempic在兩年後繼續接受治療。
向路透社提供的數據突出表明，長期服用這些藥物的人數顯著下降。
價格走勢：週三最後一次檢查時，NVO股價下跌4.29％，至134.82美元。
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