BRIEF—Ozempic subsidies cut in Novo Nordisk’s home country of Denmark

Subsidies for Danish drugmaker giant Novo Nordisk’s diabetes drug Ozempic (semaglutide) will be restricted in its home country due to rising public spending on the blockbuster diabetes medicine, which is increasingly being used as a weight-loss treatment, according to a report from Bloomberg.

The Danish Medicines Agency will keep some subsidies in place for GLP-1 analogues used to treat type 2 diabetes after Novo Nordisk agreed to lower prices.

However, the authority will tighten current rules and only reimburse patients who cannot be treated with cheaper alternatives, according to a statement on Wednesday.

Novo this week cut Ozempic prices in Denmark to $125 from $188 per month after a “negotiation process regarding public reimbursement for GLP-1 diabetes medications,” the company said in a statement late Tuesday, said Bloomberg.

The news comes as Novo Nordisk post a spectacular 106% rise in first quarter sales of obesity drug Wegovy (semaglutide) ti 9.38 billion kroner ($1.34 billion) and Ozempic sales up 42% at 27.81 billion kroner.