COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Novo Nordisk expects new data showing the heart benefits of its weight-loss drug Wegovy will help its discussions with public health authorities and other payers about the benefits of paying for it, executives said on Thursday.
“This is a key piece of evidence when we have payer discussions on a global level in terms of the value of obesity care treatments,” Chief Financial Officer Karsten Munk Knudsen said in a call with media after the company raised its full-year outlook.
New trial data released on Tuesday showed patients on Wegovy had a 20% lower incidence of heart attack, stroke or heart disease compared to those on a placebo, sending the firm’s shares to all-time highs.
Speaking on a call with analysts, Doug Langa, who’s in charge of the North American business, said the data would support the case for payers, such as Medicare, to reimburse the cost of the weekly injection.
U.S. law classifies weight-loss treatments as lifestyle drugs and bars the Medicare health plan for older Americans from covering them. Experts said the new data could lead the U.S. government to reassess that. It costs $1,300 a month in the U.S..
He said it would be “difficult to restrict” access to the drug, when asked about the possibility of it getting covered by Medicare.
(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Writing by Josephine Mason; editing by Jason Neely)
