An injectable pen of Zepbound, Eli Lilly's weight loss drug, is displayed in New York City, U.S., on December 11, 2023.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
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Good afternoon! A very popular group of diabetes and weight loss medications are still hard to find in the U.S. The dominant manufacturers of those treatments, Eli Lilly and NordiskThey are moving forward to change that.
But Wall Street seems to be more encouraged by one than the other.
The drugmakers shared updates on supply when they reported their first-quarter financial results. Demand for its weight loss and diabetes medications has far outstripped supply over the past year, forcing the couple to invest heavily to ramp up manufacturing.
Investors applauded Eli Lilly after the company raised its full-year revenue outlook by $2 billion, in part due to confidence in ramping up production of its weight-loss drug Zepbound, the treatment for Mounjaro diabetes and similar medications for the rest of the year. The company refers to those treatments as incretin drugs, which mimic certain gut hormones to suppress a person's appetite and regulate blood sugar.
“Now that we're four months into the year, we have greater visibility into that, into these capacity nodes, and we feel more confident,” Eli Lilly Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi told investors during an earnings conference call last week. pass.
He noted that Eli Lilly has several manufacturing sites “under construction or under construction,” including two locations in North Carolina, two in Indiana, one in Ireland and one in Germany, along with a seventh site the company recently acquired from Nexus Pharmaceuticals.
Ashkenazi also highlighted the recent approval and upcoming launch of a new delivery device for Mounjaro called the KwikPen in Europe and the United Kingdom, which will “unlock new delivery capacity” for certain international markets. That's because Eli Lilly has used that device for insulin for years, so the company can leverage existing manufacturing resources to produce more anti-incretin drugs.
KwikPen is a single four-dose pen that covers one month of treatment. Patients using current auto-injectors for weight loss and diabetes medications. go through four different pens a month. Asked whether the company will launch the device in the US, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks told investors: “We haven't ruled it out in other jurisdictions.”
Eli Lilly expects supplies of Zepbound, Mounjaro and other anti-incretin drugs to remain “pretty tight” in the short and medium term as demand remains high, Ashkenazi said. But he noted that Eli Lilly expects its production of salable doses of anti-incretin drugs to be at least 1.5 times higher by the end of this year than in the second half of 2023, a goal the company first outlined in February. .
Eli Lilly shares rose more than 5% on the day it reported earnings on rising guidance and offering updates.
“While [Lilly] “continues to see demand for incretins outstrip supply for the foreseeable future, the company is clearly making progress increasing capacity, and this should translate into an acceleration of volume growth throughout the year,” said JPMorgan analyst Chris Schott. , in a research note last week.
Rebekah Carl poses with her Wegovy recipe in New Columbia, Pennsylvania, USA, November 13, 2023.
Hannah Beier | Reuters
Meanwhile, investors seemed less impressed with Novo Nordisk last week. The company's shares fell more than 2% on Thursday after its first-quarter results were released.
Novo Nordisk executives said in a media call Thursday that the company is gradually increasing production of lower or “initial” doses of its weight-loss drug Wegovy in the U.S. after restricting supply. of the same last May to meet the demand.
About 27,000 new patients in the U.S. are now starting the weekly shot each week, CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen said in a media call. That's up from 5,000 a week in December.
“This is actually a very good volume ramp, as we were planning,” Jorgensen said.
He added that the company will continue to increase supply of Wegovy and its diabetes counterpart Ozempic throughout the rest of the year. The company's main goal is to “ensure continuity of care for patients who have already started treatment,” Jorgensen said.
Still, Novo Nordisk missed Wall Street estimates for sales of its weight-loss drug Wegovy, even as supply and prescriptions of the drug rose during the quarter. Wegovy's revenue more than doubled to 9.38 billion Danish crowns ($1.35 billion) during the period, missing analyst expectations of 10.55 billion Danish crowns ($1.52 billion), according to FactSet.
That's because prices for Wegovy and its diabetes counterpart Ozempic fell in the first quarter as volumes and competition increased, the company's chief financial officer, Karsten Munk Knudsen, told analysts on a call.
He added that the trend would continue for the rest of the year. List prices in the United States for Wegovy and Ozempic remain about $1,000 a month, but Novo has been offering rebates and discounts to insurers to expand coverage to more patients.
We will continue to watch how the supply landscape changes over the rest of the year. Stay tuned for our coverage.
Feel free to send any tips, suggestions, story ideas, and facts to Annika at [email protected].
The latest in health technology
Apple smartwatch ads are displayed as customers look at smartwatch accessories at the Apple store in New York, U.S., on Dec. 26, 2023.
Eduardo Muñoz | Reuters
Apple Watch heart monitoring technology approved for use in clinical studies
Apple last week won new approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its cardiac monitoring technology.
The agency announced Wednesday that the Apple Watch's Atrial Fibrillation History feature can be used in clinical studies through its Medical Device Development Tools (MDDT) program. Apple's feature is the first digital health technology to qualify under the program, the FDA said.
The FDA's MDDT program identifies technologies that are reliable enough to use in a scientific research context. It is a voluntary pathway and the tools and solutions that qualify under MDDT are then used to help evaluate new medical devices.
Apple's Atrial Fibrillation History technology will serve as a biomarker test to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of cardiac ablation devices, which are used to treat irregular heartbeats.
Atrial fibrillation, often called AFib, is a type of irregular heart rhythm that occurs when the upper chambers of the organ beat “chaotically,” according to the Mayo Clinic. Atrial fibrillation often causes a fast, pounding heartbeat and can lead to blood clots and an increased risk of stroke or heart failure.
The condition affects people differently, and sometimes people do not experience any symptoms. Still, patients with atrial fibrillation usually require treatment such as medications, therapy or surgeries to prevent outcomes like a stroke, the Mayo Clinic said.
Apple's AFib History feature allows users to track the amount of time their heart shows signs of AFib over an extended period, according to the company's website. The feature is not intended for people under 22 years of age and users must wear their Apple Watch for at least 12 hours a day, five days a week to receive estimates.
Users can also share their data with their doctors to help them determine the right treatments and next steps for them.
AFib History was initially approved by the FDA two years ago and Apple has step-by-step instructions online for patients interested in setting it up.
Apple did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
Please feel free to send any tips, suggestions, story ideas, or information to Ashley at [email protected].
