Pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk has seen growing demand for its weight-loss drugs outstrip supply.
The Danish company’s revenue has increased thanks to the explosion in popularity of its diabetes and obesity drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
The frenzy means it has pumped in cash to produce more. Sales for the first three months of the year rose 24 per cent to £7.4bn compared to the previous year.
As a result, it now expects annual sales to rise between 19 percent and 27 percent this year, an improvement from the 18 percent to 26 percent it forecast in January.
Wegovy is a weekly injection and tricks the body into thinking it is full. It is available on the NHS, but the drug’s popularity has taken off in the United States.
Fat jab: Novo Nordisk’s revenue has risen thanks to the explosion in popularity of its diabetes and obesity drugs Ozempic and Wegovy
Celebrity fans include eccentric billionaire Elon Musk and talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
Novo is enrolling more than 25,000 new patients on Wegovy each week in the U.S. But it warned there will be “continued periodic supply limitations.”
Novo Nordisk, which holds half the global market share for such medical treatments, has seen its share price rise 55 percent in a year.
And Novo will grow even more as stars show off their new looks. Wegovy is scheduled to debut in China this year.
And analysts believe the price (around £170 in UK pharmacies but £1,078 in the US) will fall, attracting a new wave of patients.
Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said: ‘The rumors surrounding Wegovy make it more than just a must-have product.
“It is in danger of becoming a status symbol among the rich and famous eager to adopt it.”