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New diabetes and weight loss medications are becoming mega-blockbusters worldwide with billions in sales.
Ozempic is a medication that is actually intended for patients with type 2 diabetes. It makes their lives a lot easier because they don’t have to inject insulin. But anyone who takes the drug from the Danish company Novo Nordisk also loses up to 15 percent of their weight. This is why there is a lot of hype about Ozempic on social media.
The result: The availability of Ozempic is currently limited. Lorenz Schmid, President of the Canton of Zurich Pharmacists’ Association, says: “The wholesalers ensure that as many pharmacies as possible where there is demand are supplied with small quantities.” This is how we try to meet the demand from diabetics.
Huge potential
Ozempic is only available with a prescription. Anyone who wants the product exclusively to lose weight – so-called “off-label” – has to pay for it themselves. Accordingly, only the costs that are covered by health insurers are known: According to the Federal Office of Public Health, this year sales amounted to almost 36 million francs by the end of June – as much as in the whole of 2021. Last year it was almost 57 million francs.
One speaks of a blockbuster when the potential exceeds one billion per year. Accordingly, they would be mega blockbusters.
This doesn’t surprise Sibylle Bischofberger. The pharmaceutical analyst at private bank Vontobel knows people in her environment who are losing weight with Ozempic. The potential of drugs in Ozempic’s class of active ingredients is huge, she says: “At the moment there are two billion overweight people in the world, around 750 million obese people and around 540 million diabetics.” The numbers rose sharply as different cultures adopted the Western lifestyle. “This means that there are even more overweight people, more obese people and more diabetics.”
“We talk about a blockbuster when the potential exceeds one billion dollars in sales per year,” says Bischofberger. A mega-blockbuster is when the potential is much higher. «We expect that global drug sales could significantly exceed 10 billion in the next three years. Accordingly, they would be mega-blockbusters.”
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In addition to Ozempic from Novo Nordisk, the diabetes drug Mounjaro from the US company Eli Lilly is also available in Switzerland. Mounjaro also helps you lose weight. Wegovy, also from Novo Nordisk, will soon be available. This medication is based on the same active ingredient, but is approved for obesity.
Swiss companies benefit
Novartis and Roche have no corresponding drugs in development. But other Swiss companies are playing a major role in the boom: “Swiss companies are strong in producing, packaging and bottling such medicines,” says Bischofberger. For example, there is the Bachem company, which can produce the active ingredient of the drug, or Ypsomed, which takes care of the packaging. Because the medication would have to be injected.
Ypsomed in Burgdorf, Bern, writes that the long-term cooperation with Novo Nordisk supports the growth strategy significantly and sustainably. Bachem, based in Bubendorf in Baselland, leaves open whether a collaboration exists, citing customer confidentiality. However, it is assumed that Bachem is currently significantly expanding its production capacities.
Ozempic, Mounjaro and all other drugs in this class of active ingredients are worth their weight in gold for the manufacturing companies.