Novo Nordisk CEO: Willing to be "flexible" on Wegovy pricing schemes - FT

Investing.com -- Novo Nordisk (CSE:NOVOb) is ready to be "flexible" on pricing schemes for its Wegovy weight-loss drug as it attempts to make the blockbuster treatment more widely available, according to the Financial Times.

Speaking in an interview with the paper, Chief Executive Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen said that the Danish drugmaker is in discussions with health systems about innovative pricing deals for Wegovy.

Despite increased competition from peer Eli Lilly's (NYSE:LLY) rival -- and cheaper -- Zepbound drug, Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) does not intend to reduce the price of Wegovy. Instead, the FT quoted Jørgensen as saying the company is open to healthcare providers spreading the cost over a longer period of time to "adopt the medicines upfront, see the benefits, and pay down the road." 

In one example, Jørgensen argued that fewer incidents of serious cardiovascular events could translate to savings that help spread out the impact on healthcare systems from large upfront payments for Wegovy. According to findings from a late-stage trial, Wegovy has been shown to lower the risk of strokes or heart attacks by around 20%.

However, he noted to the FT that, due to a high number of potential patients, only a "small fraction" of that eligible population will be taking the drug in the foreseeable future.

In the U.S., just under 42% of the population suffered from obesity from 2017 to March 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC has referred to the disease, which occurs when a person's weight is higher than what is considered healthy for a given height, as "common, serious, and costly."

Around half of U.S. healthcare insurers do not cover Wegovy, which lists in the country for more than $1,300 a month. Medicare, the U.S. government's insurance program for seniors, does not yet offer the drug.

Meanwhile, in the European Union, where just over a sixth of the population was defined as obese in 2019, Jørgensen flagged to the FT that most healthcare services typically commit to one-year payment schemes, rather than multiyear plans.