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Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly raise sales projections on the back of weight loss drugs
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
Zepbound’s first-quarter sales reached $517.4 million, surpassing estimates of $418 million, while Mounjaro recorded sales of $1.8 billion, slightly below the anticipated $2 billion, likely due to limited supply.
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have upgraded their full-year projections owing to sustained robust demand for their weight-loss drugs. Strong sales of Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 drugs, Mounjaro and Zepbound, during the first quarter (CY2024) prompted an upward revision of its annual sales forecast by $2 billion.
Zepbound’s first-quarter sales reached $517.4 million, surpassing estimates of $418 million, while Mounjaro recorded sales of $1.8 billion, slightly below the anticipated $2 billion, likely due to limited supply.
These medications, both containing the chemical compound tirzepatide, have propelled the market value of US drug makers beyond $700 billion, surpassing that of Tesla and Walmart.
Meanwhile, Danish firm Novo Nordisk, with a 28% YoY profit growth in its Q1 earnings to $3.65 billion, now anticipates sales growth between 19% and 27% in local currencies, compared to the previously guided range of 18% to 26%. This growth is largely driven by the success of its blockbuster drugs, Wegovy and Ozempic, with Wegovy sales experiencing a remarkable 107% YoY surge to 9.4 billion Krones.
Novo Nordisk has ramped up its supply of Wegovy in the US by fourfold since December, with approximately 20,000 new US patients starting weekly injections each week. The success of these drugs has propelled Novo Nordisk’s market value to $570 billion, surpassing the entire Danish economy.
GLP-1 drugs have garnered significant attention for their ability to assist patients in shedding up to 20% of their weight. Over 1 million Zepbound prescriptions and approximately 1.75 million for Wegovy have been written in the US since the beginning of 2024, with demand on the rise as the drugs’ applications expand. For instance, Wegovy has received USFDA approval for reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases in overweight and obese individuals, while Eli Lilly’s Zepbound is under study for treating sleep apnea.
Eli Lilly and Danish competitor Novo Nordisk are racing to increase production in a weight-loss market projected to reach at least $100 billion by the end of the decade.
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