Novo Nordisk Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

Denmark teams up with Novo Nordisk Foundation, NVIDIA to launch visionary AI research center

A total of 15,128 NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs (pictured here) will be used in the Denmark AI Innovation Center. The hardware can support the development of advanced AI applications, from protein structure prediction to quantum computing research.

A collaboration between the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO), and NVIDIA will establish a national AI Innovation Centre in Denmark focused on accelerating research and innovation in fields including healthcare, life science, and quantum computing. The initiative is led on the Danish side by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, which has committed roughly DKK 600 million (around $90 million) toward the initial costs of the center, and the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO), which has contributed another DKK 100 million.

In a press briefing, Kimberly Powell, NVIDIA’s VP of healthcare, highlighted Denmark’s “…

How Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy cardiovascular benefits could drive further growth

Semaglutide was already one of the best-selling drugs of recent memory. And Novo Nordisk the fastest-growing Big Pharma firm. Now, the FDA’s decision to expand the label of its weight-loss version of the drug to include cardiovascular benefits could help unlock more growth momentum for Novo Nordisk. This positions Wegovy as the first weight-loss medication also cleared for reducing the risk of heart attack, stroke, or heart-related death in at-risk individuals. The approval, based on a 17,600-patient SELECT study demonstrating a 20% lower risk of cardiac events with Wegovy versus placebo, could have a material impact on sales. The study also found that patients lost an average of 15% of their weight.

The expanded FDA label sanctions the use of Wegovy for reducing the risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack, and stroke in adults with cardiovascular disease who are obese or overweight. This marks a significa…

Pharma manufacturing sees wave of investments in Europe

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Over the past three months, the pharma sector has seen a string of investments in manufacturing facilities, especially in Europe. While the European economy lost momentum in 2023 owing to a high cost of living, weak external demand, and monetary tightening, the prospects for growth remain stronger with the EU GDP growth forecast to improve to 1.3% in 2024, according to the European Commission. As economic prospects improve in 2024, major pharma companies are doubling down on investments in European manufacturing infrastructure and jobs to meet strong global demand. While the sector regains momentum, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) has expressed concerns about a proposed overhaul of pharma rules from the European Commission, which it worries could harm future investments in the region. For the time being, major pharma companies including Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly…

Novo Nordisk to boost GLP-1 capacity with €2.1 billion investment in France

Novo Nordisk announced last week that it plans to invest approximately 16 billion Danish kroner €2.1 billion in GLP-1 drug production.

The company plans to expand its Chartres, France, production site for its current and future product portfolio within serious chronic diseases. This investment significantly increases the capacity of the manufacturing site. It adds aseptic production and finished production processes and extends its current quality control laboratory.

Denmark-based Novo Nordisk’s investment doubles the footprint of the existing plant. It began construction projects and expects finalization between 2026 and 2028, with more than 500 new jobs set to come along with it.

The company said its investment ups the capacity for GLP-1 products and will help it meet future demands for innovative medicine.

GLP-1 receptor agonists, like Ozempic and Wegovy, provide therapy for diabetes and weight loss. This therapeutic class, a glucagon-lik…

Novo Nordisk stops once-weekly semaglutide kidney outcomes trial early following interim analysis

Novo Nordisk will halt the phase 3b FLOW trial, which investigated the effects of once-weekly injectable semaglutide on kidney outcomes in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and chronic kidney disease (CKD).

The company reached the decision following the recommendation of the independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC), following an interim analysis that met pre-specified criteria for stopping the trial early for efficacy. The company noted that it would maintain the integrity of the trial data, blinding to the results until the trial’s completion. It plans on announcing results in the first half of 2024.

Semaglutide Sales: 2022 vs H1 2023 google.charts.load('current', {'packages':['corechart']}); google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawChart); function drawChart() { var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([ ['Drug Name with Brand', '2022 Sales', 'H1 2023 Sales'], …

An overview of the GLP-1 landscape in obesity therapeutics

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The GLP-1 drug market continues to boom lately thanks to highly effective new medications like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and continued demand for the drug class in diabetes. The runaway success of Wegovy and Ozempic (both formulations of semaglutide) has caused Novo Nordisk’s share price to skyrocket in 2023, briefly making the Danish pharmaceutical company the most valuable in Europe by market capitalization. Novo Nordisk’s growth has even exceeded Denmark’s entire economic output.

Far-ranging GLP-1 landscape projections

Given the massive potential of the obesity drug market, with projections ranging from Goldman Sachs’ $44 billion to Barclays’ $100 billion by 2030, Big Pharmas such as Novo Nordisk and Lilly are engaging in billion-dollar acquisitions of smaller biotechs with promising obesity pipelines.

At present, Novo Nordisk is having troubling ke…

The weight-loss drug market: overhyped or justified?

Photo by John Guccione www.advergroup.com: https://www.pexels.com/photo/100-us-dollar-banknotes-3531895/

The obesity drug market has seen a surge of interest recently, largely thanks to the popularity of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro. The explosion in interest in the drug class has fueled the stock prices of Novo and Lilly, which both have multiple GLP-1 drugs in their portfolios.

Novo’s stock on the New York Stock Exchange is up over one-third so far in 2023 — trading near $92 per share after beginning the year at $68.48. Lilly has seen even steeper gains with its stock closing at $538.29 on October 2, up almost 48% so far this year.

So far this year, the GLP-1 surge has negatively impacted the stocks of some medical device companies focused on diabetes and sleep apnea. Analysts have even speculated that the surge in popularit…

White House targets blockbusters in Medicare’s price negotiation strategy

Photo by Tabrez Syed on Unsplash

The Biden-Harris Administration has nominated 10 drugs for price negotiations directly with pharmaceutical giants after capping monthly insulin costs at $35.

Americans have historically paid more for prescription drugs than most other major economies. In a fact sheet, the White House highlighted that seniors paid $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs for these drugs just last year. Biden, like Trump before him, aim to bring prices more in line with those of other advanced nations.

This move is not isolated. The Biden Administration has implemented other cost-saving measures, such as reining in the cost of insulin and making some vaccines free for Medicare beneficiaries.

All of the 10 drugs on the list were blockbusters. Eight of the 10 were among the bestselling drugs of 2022. The remaining two are insulin formulations from Novo Nordisk: Fiasp and NovoLog.

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The biggest stories from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 2023 Scientific Sessions

From left: the Insulet Omnipod 5, Medtronic MiniMed 780G and the Senseonics Eversense E3. These technologies were part of some of the biggest stories from the American Diabetes Associations’ 2023 Scientific Sessions. [Images courtesy of Insulet, Medtronic and Senseonics]

As it does every year, this past week, the American Diabetes Association convened its Scientific Sessions to bring together leaders in the diabetes space.

At last year’s event, next-generation technologies from the big hitters took the spotlight. The 83rd iteration this past week produced a range of new studies, product updates and positive news for a number of technologies and innovations. From continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to insulin pumps to digital platforms and diabetes reversal procedures, ADA 2023 saw it all.

Usual suspects, like Dexcom, Abbott, Medtronic and Insulet shared their updates. Meanwhile, promising data came …

The battle of the bulge: Semaglutide and tirzapatide could be new weight-loss warriors

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A pair of weight-loss drugs — semaglutide and tirzapatide — could reshape the way we view and treat obesity, according to a Moody’s report dated May 18. The ratings firm notes that Novo Nordisk could benefit from a first-mover advantage in the obesity market as it now has two novel weight loss drugs on the market: Saxenda (liraglutide) and Wegovy (semaglutide). Semaglutide has already emerged as an example of a ‘viral’ drug, as Harvard Health Publishing noted earlier this year, owing to its popularity on social media and with celebrities. A YouGov survey found that 60% of Americans had heard about this class of weight loss drugs.

If Lilly’s tirzepatide, the first dual GIP/GLP- coagonist, wins approval for obesity, its developer could also profit handsomely. In April, analysts projected that annual tirzepatide sales could hit $50 billion by 2030.

Tirzapa…

California partners with manufacturer to make affordable generic insulin

[Insulin molecular model image Dr_Microbe/Adobe Stock]

The state of California has established a $50 million collaboration over a decade with the generic drug manufacturer Civica. The goal of the collaboration is to create affordable state-branded generic insulin.

Qualified individuals may obtain a 10-mL vial of generic insulin for $30 or less. California plans to provide a pack containing five prefilled 3 mL pens for $55 or less.

Governor Gavin Newsom hopes California’s emergence as an insulin-maker will lead insulin prices to collapse.

Echoing these efforts, President Biden has made it clear that his administration is dedicated to bringing down health care expenses. In that vein, Biden has urged pharmaceutical giants to rein in insulin prices.

Major insulin makers respond to pressure for lower prices

In recent weeks, Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY), Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) and Sanofi (Nasdaq:SNY) …

Sanofi joins Lilly and Novo Nordisk in drastic insulin price reductions

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Paris-based Sanofi (Nasdaq:SNY) is the fastest company to reduce insulin prices. The pharmaceutical behemoth said it would cut the list price of Lantus (insulin glargine injection) by 78%. Lantus is its most commonly prescribed insulin in the U.S. Moreover, Sanofi will implement a $35 cap on out-of-pocket expenses for users of the insulin.

Sanofi has also pledged to slash the list price of its short-acting Apidra (insulin glulisine injection) 100 units/mL by a 70%.

The company has a 40% share of the U.S. market.

Lilly and Novo Nordisk have similar initiatives

This follows recent announcements from other companies striving to decrease insulin costs. For example, Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) committed to capping out-of-pocket expenses for insulin at $35 monthly. Lilly also said it would drop the price of its non-branded insulin to $25 per vial, resulting in cos…