Get ready for generic Ozempic

Cheaper alternatives

Weight-loss drugs feel so ubiquitous these days that it’s easy to forget how difficult it still is for much of the world’s obese population to get them. Given high costs and supply constraints, fewer than 10% of everyone who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs get them, the World Health Organization recently warned.

In some countries, patients could soon have cheaper options in the form of off-patent generic medications. The core patent for semaglutide, the key ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s popular Ozempic and Wegovy drugs, is set to expire in several markets over the next few months. As my colleagues and I report in this Bloomberg Big Take, dozens of companies have their sleeves rolled up to market copies of the drugs, likely paving the way for a price war. In India, Nomura analysts estimate prices could drop to as low as $15.

The arrival of generics will be game-changing in terms of the cost, accessibility and availability of obesity therapies, according to Angie Jackson-Morris, director of program development and strategy at the World Obesity Federation.

With patent protection falling in populous countries like China, India and Brazil, by one estimate, the change will affect a third of the world’s adults living with obesity. In other markets such as the US and Europe, the semaglutide patents will stay in place until the 2030s.

To be sure, semaglutide copycats aren’t going to be unleashed all at once. Canada, which became the first country to open the door to generics in early January, is still reviewing its first batch of applications. Some generic makers are initially targeting approval for treating diabetes, not weight loss.

But price pressures are already being felt. In recent months, Novo Nordisk has cut the price of Wegovy in India and China, where the launch prices were already lower than developed markets, and its chief rival Eli Lilly has also slashed its price in China. Meanwhile, other drugmakers are developing medicines promising to be more effective, safer or easier to use than semaglutide.

Things aren’t all rosy from here. The influx of new generics could exacerbate issues with drug misuse and counterfeit products. Jackson-Morris also urges governments not to view the treatments as a cure-all – prevention and management are just as important.

Obesity is “one of the biggest public health challenges. So it needs all brains, all organizations, and I think individuals, the media, everybody will have a role,” she said.

She cited the HIV epidemic, in which the virus-borne disease moved from a stigmatized, life-threatening condition to a manageable chronic one over two decades. “Drugs were an important part, but only one part of that.” — Amber Tong