Wegovy and Ozempic are drugs manufactured by the Danish company, Novo Nordisk, to treat diabetes. Within the past year or so they have been approved as weight loss drugs. The sales skyrocketed to the point that the GDP of Denmark soared. Novo Nordisk’s sales accounted for approximately 9.9% of Denmark’s GDP in 2024.
That’s pretty unbelievable. But the best news for any pharmaceutical company is that their drug has been approved for another common chronic disease. They already have the sunk cost of drug development and manufacturing. All they need to do is run a clinical trial on a new disease.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/well/fda-approves-wegovy-mash-liver-disease-fibrosis.html
A Common Weight Loss Drug Can Treat Severe Liver Disease, F.D.A. Says
Wegovy has been approved for use among the growing number of Americans who have MASH.
By Dani Blum, The New York Times, Aug. 18, 2025
The Food and Drug Administration approved the weight loss drug Wegovy to treat an increasingly prevalent liver disease on Friday.
Roughly 15 million people — six percent of adults in the United States — have metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, known as MASH. Rates of the disease are rising….
The list of conditions for which scientists are studying these drugs keeps growing. The F.D.A. approved Wegovy last year to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes in people who are overweight or obese; in January, the agency cleared Ozempic — which contains the same compound as Wegovy — to treat kidney disease in people with diabetes. Zepbound, a similar obesity medication from competitor Eli Lilly, won approval for people with obesity and sleep apnea in December. [end quote]
My dear, sweet mother-in-law died of MASH, which used to be called “non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.” She never touched a drop of alcohol but ate every meal at the family’s American-style diner which served the Standard American Diet (SAD). She wasn’t obese but had a typical overweight American woman’s soft body since she never worked out.
@captainccs has told us over the years how he reversed his chronic illnesses by improving his diet. But the CDC has told us that obesity in the U.S. is only increasing.
Novo Nordisk stock has collapsed from its 2024 peak since Eli Lilly now has a competing drug. The profiles of these stocks are completely different. But both of them are leading pharma companies and their products’ uses are growing.
Wendy