, manufacturer of blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, announced Wednesday (29 November) that it is suing a compounding pharmacy in Florida and refiling a suit against another for selling fake semaglutide.
The suit alleges that Wells Pharmacy Network and Brooksville Pharmaceuticals, both compounding pharmacies based in Florida, are selling products that claim to contain semaglutide but that are heavily adulterated.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataSome samples tested by Novo allegedly contained up to 33% of unknown impurities, and others contained BPC-157, a peptide banned in use for compounding due to safety concerns. Many samples were also under the reported strength, with one containing 19% less semaglutide than advertised.
Compounding pharmacies have been a thorn in Novo and competitor Eli Lilly鈥檚 side for much of this year, but fighting them isn鈥檛 easy. from manufacturers because Ozempic is on the FDA鈥檚 official shortage list, and the number of clinics and pharmacies dispensing off-brand versions of the drug means that taking them all down is a lengthy process.
Novo has won injunctions previously to prevent companies from marketing its drugs as Ozempic or Wegovy, but loose regulation in the field of compounded drugs means that there is little it can do to prevent sales of semaglutide itself. The issue for the company is that many buying these drugs do not know that they aren鈥檛 officially affiliated with Novo, which can cause brand image problems.
An attorney for Brooksville that it will seek to dismiss the case.
Whether or not Novo is successful in these suits, the problem of compounding pharmacies will remain for as long as there is a shortage of Ozempic and a demand for its weight loss capabilities. Though the company claims to be taking the issue seriously, it is at the same time , meaning these supply issues are likely to remain.
A GlobalData analysis of Novo Nordisk鈥檚 company filings shows that ESG, which includes the social impact of its products, is the top thematic concern for Novo, appearing above economic and product concerns.
GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology.
Our signals coverage is powered by , which tags millions of data items across six alternative datasets 鈥� patents, jobs, deals, company filings, social media mentions and news 鈥� to themes, sectors and companies. These signals enhance our predictive capabilities, helping us to identify the most disruptive threats across each of the sectors we cover and the companies best placed to succeed.
