礼来的一位发言人在一份声明中表示：“我们认识到这种情况可能会导致人们的治疗方案中断，我们正在努力满足激增的需求。”并补充道，该公司预计其在制造和供应能力方面的投资“将在2024年及以后逐步增加我们的药品产量”。The Zhitong Finance App learned that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) drug shortage database updated on Wednesday showed that most doses of LLY.US (LLY.US)'s popular diet drug Zepbound and the diabetes drug Mounjaro will be in short supply in the second quarter of this year as demand surges.
With the exception of the 2.5 mg versions of these two treatments, all doses of Zepbound and Mounjaro are in short supply. According to previous updates, some doses of these two drugs will be in limited supply until April.
Recent data shows that while Eli Lilly and its main competitor, Novo Nordisk (NVO.US), are working to increase production of these treatments, demand for these popular weight loss and diabetes medications is still squeezing supply.
An Eli Lilly spokesperson said in a statement: “We recognize that this situation may disrupt people's treatment programs, and we are working to meet the surge in demand.” It added that the company expects its investment in manufacturing and supply capacity “to gradually increase our pharmaceutical production in 2024 and beyond.”
In February of this year, Eli Lilly stated that it had achieved the goal of doubling the production capacity of such intestinal insulin drugs by the end of 2023. The company said it will expand production “just as urgently” this year, with the most significant increase occurring in the second half of the year.
The company expects that by that time of this year, its production of marketable doses of insulin will be at least 1.5 times that of the second half of 2023.
Eli Lilly also said that a new plant in Concord, North Carolina, will start producing intestinal insulin drugs as early as the end of this year, and the products will be shipped in 2025. The company will also build several other facilities over the next few years, including a plant in Germany and two new plants in Indiana.
Novo Nordisk also announced similar initiatives. According to the FDA's website, some doses of the weight loss drug Wegovy and the diabetes drug Ozempic are also in short supply.