CNBC’s Jim Cramer has a lot to say about Wegovy, Novo Nordisk’s fast-selling weight loss treatment.
So, tell us, Jim, how do you really feel?
CNBC host and contributor Jim Cramer did not hold back his feelings about drugmaker Novo Nordisk (NVO) – Get Free Report during a Feb. 1 segment on the business channel’s “The Mad Dash” program.
“There’s no real reason to check other than the fact that the chart is about the greatest chart you’ve ever seen,” Cramer declared as the Danish company’s stock chart appeared on the screen.
Cramer said most of Novo Nordisk’s success comes from its obesity drug Wegovy, which he said posted a 172% increase in sales.
Studies have indicated weekly injections of the drug dampens patients’ appetites and helps overweight people to lose about 15% of their body weight.
Cramer’s comments came on the same day that Novo Nordisk presented “strong” sales expectations for 2023, according to Reuters, beating Wall Street’s fourth-quarter earnings forecasts and launchinga $4.09 billion share buyback.
Drug Popular With Celebrities
Wegovy has been popular with Hollywood celebrities as well as Tesla (TSLA) – Get Free Report CEO Elon Musk, who attributed his fit appearance to “fasting and Wegovy.”
Musk, who bought Twitter for $44 billion last year, later updated that comment to cover “Fasting + Ozempic/Wegovy + no tasty food near me.”
Ozempic and Wegovy are both the same medication semaglutide. Ozempic was approved to treat Type 2 diabetes, while Wegovy is a higher-dose version that was approved for weight loss.
Eli Lilly (LLY) – Get Free Report has a drug that can treat weight loss, too. The company said its medication Mounjaro has “led to significant weight reductions”, but Cramer noted that the diabetes treatment is not approved for weight loss.
“But Novo Nordisk is constrained,” he said. “They can’t make enough Wegovy. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly is spending a fortune building manufacturing capacity … Lilly has–as I’ve said before–the greatest selling drug of all time.”
Novo Nordisk said that it expected “periodic supply constraints” this year, partly driven by higher-than-expected demand for Ozempic, and manufacturing constraints.
“Supply of Ozempic cannot keep up with demand in some markets,” Novo’s Chief Financial Officer Karsten Munk Knudsen told journalists, but added that Ozempic was available in the U.S., the company’s biggest single market.
