Novo's Wegovy pill hits over 18,000 US prescriptions in strong debut week

By Sriparna Roy

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Novo Nordisk's Wegovy pill was prescribed much than 18,000 times successful the U.S. successful the archetypal afloat week aft its motorboat successful an encouraging commencement ​to the oral weight-loss cause race, according to analysts who cited IQVIA data.

Investors are ‌closely watching prescriptions information to spot if the Danish drugmaker tin property its first-mover vantage against rival Eli Lilly successful a ‌competitive weight-loss market.

Oral obesity treatments connection patients greater flexibility and a needle-free alternative, though injectable medications are inactive expected to predominate for years to come.

At slightest 2 analysts said the medicine information signals robust aboriginal uptake and was tracking up of launches of different GLP-1s, arsenic drugmakers displacement towards cash-pay user models.

"The aboriginal ⁠oral Wegovy motorboat information is precise ‌strong, albeit successful a present acold amended established obesity marketplace versus gathering the obesity market," Barclays expert James Gordon said.

TRACKING AHEAD OF OTHER GLP-1 LAUNCHES

Novo's pill was ‍prescribed 18,410 times successful the week ended January 16, which analysts said was a stronger debut than the launches of Novo's injectable Wegovy and Lilly's Zepbound, though they noted that the marketplace has matured importantly since those drugs ​first rolled out.

The pill deed 3,071 U.S. prescriptions successful the archetypal 4 days aft its motorboat ‌on January 5, according to IQVIA data. The steadfast did not instantly respond to a Reuters petition for comment.

Novo, nether a caller CEO who took implicit past year, is banking connected the pill mentation of its blockbuster Wegovy attraction to gully caller consumers arsenic it works to regain momentum against Lilly, aft nett warnings and slowing maturation weighed connected its shares past year.

Novo's shares person been rising steadily ⁠since the crook of the year, up astir 25% successful ​January. The banal roseate 2.5% connected Friday to deed its ​highest level since precocious July, erstwhile CEO Mike Doustdar took implicit amid sliding sales.

ENCOURAGING FOR LILLY'S PILL

The Wegovy pill's occurrence volition hinge connected however efficaciously Novo tin triumph ‍over U.S. consumers consenting ⁠to wage retired of pocket, marking a crisp interruption from the emblematic exemplary successful which uptake is correlated with security coverage.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to marque a ⁠decision connected Lilly's experimental pill orforglipron by April.

"We deliberation the aboriginal oral Wegovy motorboat is directionally encouraging for orfo," said ‌Jefferies expert Akash Tewari.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy successful Bengaluru, Bhanvi Satija and Maggie Fick ‌in London; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Maju Samuel)