Americans are hungry for Wegovy and Ozempic

Analysis of American prescribing trends made available by health tech pioneer DrFirst show a six-fold increase in prescriptions written for popular weight loss drug Wegovy (semaglutide) between December 2022 and June 2023, and a 65% increase in the number of prescriptions for Ozempic (semaglutide), the lower-dose version for treating diabetes, during the same period by doctors on the DrFirst prescribing network.

Overall, there was a 150% increase in semaglutide prescriptions written on DrFirst’s network in the last year, and an 80% increase in prescriptions written per provider.

Ozempic and Wegovy have different names, dosages, and indications, but are identical in terms of their molecular makeup, and both are manufactured by Danish diabetes care giant Novo Nordisk (NOV: N). Semaglutide helps regulate the body’s secretion of hormones such as insulin, while slowing the emptying of the stomach and reducing hunger signals in the brain.