Wegovy and Mounjaro begin to dominate the obesity market

4 trillion won in sales this year

Novo Nordisk Wegovy 3rd quarter cumulative sales 4.1 trillion won

Lilly Mounjaro sales 3.9 trillion won

Wegovy and Mounjaro

Novo Nordisk Wegovy and Eli Lilly Mounjaro have grown explosively in the global market.

 

The two products together generated sales of close to 4 trillion won by the third quarter.

 

In the future, if Mounjaro officially obtains an obesity treatment indication from the FDA, competition between the two products is expected to become more intense.

 

The obesity market rises vertically to Wegovy 4.1 trillion won and Mounjaro 3.9 trillion won According to the pharmaceutical industry on the 4th, Novo Nordisk's obesity treatment Wegovy recorded cumulative sales of approximately 4.1248 trillion won in the third quarter of this year.

 

Sales increased nearly six times compared to the same period last year.

 

Wegovy is a Semaglutide GLP-1 receptor agonist drug.

 

Novo Nordisk first developed Ozempic as a diabetes treatment with the same ingredient and then relaunched it as Wigobi after proving its effectiveness in treating obesity.

 

Since its launch, Wegovy has received a lot of attention.

 

In the U.S.

 

market, demand was high enough to cause shortages within a few months of launch.

 

Thanks to Wegovy's sensation, Novo Nordisk's sales also increased significantly.

 

Novo Nordisk's total cumulative sales in the third quarter amounted to approximately 31.67 trillion won, an increase of 33% in one year.

 

Eli Lilly Mounjaro, which is considered a potential competitor to Wegovy, also posted sales close to 4 trillion won.

 

According to the third-quarter performance data released by Eli Lilly on the 2nd (US local time), Mounjaro's cumulative sales in the third quarter amounted to $2.957.5 billion (approximately 3.91 trillion won).

 

Compared to the same period last year, sales rose vertically by more than 14 times.

 

It is estimated that most of the sales come from off-label prescriptions aimed at treating obesity.

 

Currently, Mounjaro has been approved by the U.S.

 

FDA as a treatment for diabetes.

 

However, as the effectiveness of this product in treating obesity became known, it received great attention and was widely prescribed off-label in the United States.

 

It contributed significantly to Lilly's overall sales growth.

 

Lilly's cumulative sales in the third quarter were $24.77 billion (about 32.77 trillion won), a 16% increase compared to $21.2936 billion in the third quarter of last year.

 

It is analyzed that although the sales of Trulicity, Lilly's highest-selling product, decreased by 7% due to supply instability, this was offset by the significant increase in sales of Mounjaro.

 

Mounjaro will compete with Wegovy in earnest once its official obesity treatment is approved.

 

Attention is focused on the timing of Mounjaro's official approval as an obesity treatment.

 

Lilly has proven its weight loss effect through a separate phase 3 obesity clinical trial and is currently going through the approval process for obesity indications.

 

Lilly expects to receive additional approval for obesity indications from the U.S.

 

FDA within this year.

 

If Mounjaro is officially approved as an obesity treatment within the year as Lilly plans, full-scale competition with WeGobee is expected after next year.

 

Although there are no studies directly comparing the two drugs, looking at each clinical trial alone, Maunzaro's weight loss effect is evaluated to be slightly superior.

 

In Mounjaro's SURMOUNT-1 study, the weight loss effect was found to be 15.0-20.9% depending on the drug dose.

 

This study was conducted on 2,539 adults with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher or a BMI of 27 or higher who suffered from one or more weight-related complications other than diabetes.

 

When they were administered 5mg, 10mg, and 15mg of Mounjaro for 72 weeks, the weight loss rates were 15.0%, 19.5%, and 20.9%, respectively.

 

Wegovy's STEP study showed a weight loss effect of 14.9%.

 

The study was conducted on 1,961 adults with a BMI of 30 or higher or a BMI of 27 or higher who suffered from one or more weight-related diseases other than diabetes.

 

When these people were administered Wegovy 2.4mg for 68 weeks, the weight loss rate was 14.9%.

 

Additionally, the proportion of people who lost more than 5% of their body weight was 86.4%.