The medication Wegovy, which contains semaglutid just like the diabetes medication Ozempic, is used as a complement to reduced calorie intake and increased physical activity to reduce weight in patients.
It has been available in Sweden since 2023, but not marketed by Novo Nordisk directly, instead through other companies that have imported it. Novo Nordisk themselves have waited due to the global shortage of semaglutid. A shortage that has now decreased.
From March 4, Novo Nordisk will sell the weight loss preparation directly to Swedish pharmacies. The price, according to Dagens Medicin, will be lower than for the products that other companies import today.
Novo Nordisk has also submitted an application to the Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency to have Wegovy subsidized. If they receive approval, it means that patients will not have to pay the full cost themselves. The company states that the subsidy application does not apply to the entire patient group, but only to those with "the highest risk of serious health risks".
In 2024, Wegovy was the best-selling obesity medication in Sweden in kronor.
The American authority FDA recently announced that the shortage of semaglutid in injectable form is now over in the USA. In Sweden, Novo Nordisk reports that there is still a shortage of the diabetes medication Ozempic in the lowest strength. The shortage will be temporary during the spring.
