UK retailer limits weight-loss drug amid soaring demand
Superdrug says it has a small fraction of what would be needed to fulfil its swelling waiting list
07 September 2023 - 16:20
by Maggie Fick
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London — British health and beauty chain Superdrug said on Thursday that the amount of weight-loss drug Wegovy it has so far received is “a very small fraction” of what would be needed to fulfil its swelling waiting list.
More than 20,000 people had registered an interest in buying Wegovy from Superdrug even before Novo Nordisk launched the drug in Britain on Monday, and the waiting list has increased since then, a spokesperson said.
The very small volume of the drug, which is delivered by monthly injection, received by the company may stoke concerns expressed by doctors and medical experts this week that UK demand will immediately outstrip supply.
Novo said when announcing the launch in Britain that Wegovy will be available through the National Health Service’s weight management scheme and on the private market.
Superdrug and other large pharmacy chains, such as Walgreens Boots Alliance, have online weight-loss management clinics that have begun dispensing Wegovy. But the websites of Superdrug and Boots say limited stocks mean the companies’ doctors can only provide the treatment to those who are among their existing weight-loss patients.
Saxenda, a daily injection which is Novo’s older weight-loss treatment and which is less effective than Wegovy, is already in short supply, according to the UK’s health regulator. Ozempic, which contains the same active ingredient as Wegovy but is approved in the UK for treatment for type 2 diabetes, is also officially in shortage.
Advocacy group Diabetes UK said this week that Ozempic’s increasing off-label use for weight-loss has hurt people with type 2 diabetes who have been prescribed the drug but have struggled to fill their prescriptions.
Novo said on Monday its launch in Britain would be “limited and controlled” due to supply constraints that have also affected the other four markets in which Wegovy is available, including the US.
The Danish drugmaker did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday but has previously stated that it does not comment on volumes and deliveries of its products.
Superdrug did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how many prescriptions it has so far dispensed and Boots did not respond on how much stock it has received.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
UK retailer limits weight-loss drug amid soaring demand
Superdrug says it has a small fraction of what would be needed to fulfil its swelling waiting list
London — British health and beauty chain Superdrug said on Thursday that the amount of weight-loss drug Wegovy it has so far received is “a very small fraction” of what would be needed to fulfil its swelling waiting list.
More than 20,000 people had registered an interest in buying Wegovy from Superdrug even before Novo Nordisk launched the drug in Britain on Monday, and the waiting list has increased since then, a spokesperson said.
The very small volume of the drug, which is delivered by monthly injection, received by the company may stoke concerns expressed by doctors and medical experts this week that UK demand will immediately outstrip supply.
Novo said when announcing the launch in Britain that Wegovy will be available through the National Health Service’s weight management scheme and on the private market.
Superdrug and other large pharmacy chains, such as Walgreens Boots Alliance, have online weight-loss management clinics that have begun dispensing Wegovy. But the websites of Superdrug and Boots say limited stocks mean the companies’ doctors can only provide the treatment to those who are among their existing weight-loss patients.
Saxenda, a daily injection which is Novo’s older weight-loss treatment and which is less effective than Wegovy, is already in short supply, according to the UK’s health regulator. Ozempic, which contains the same active ingredient as Wegovy but is approved in the UK for treatment for type 2 diabetes, is also officially in shortage.
Advocacy group Diabetes UK said this week that Ozempic’s increasing off-label use for weight-loss has hurt people with type 2 diabetes who have been prescribed the drug but have struggled to fill their prescriptions.
Novo said on Monday its launch in Britain would be “limited and controlled” due to supply constraints that have also affected the other four markets in which Wegovy is available, including the US.
The Danish drugmaker did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday but has previously stated that it does not comment on volumes and deliveries of its products.
Superdrug did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how many prescriptions it has so far dispensed and Boots did not respond on how much stock it has received.
Reuters
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