(Bloomberg) -- The Netherlands should not cover the cost of Novo Nordisk A/S’s Wegovy as it’s too expensive and there are “major uncertainties” about the obesity drug’s long-term benefits, the country’s health care institute warned.
Reimbursement of Wegovy under basic national insurance could amount to €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) per year, which poses a “socially unjustifiable” risk to the health-care budget, the government agency said in advice to Healthcare Minister Fleur Agema on Tuesday.
Although the drug can help people lose weight, there are no studies on responsible reduction of use once someone’s weight has decreased sufficiently or whether long-term use is permanently effective, the agency added.
In the Netherlands, basic health insurance is obligatory for all who work or live there. Novo filed a request to be admited to the basic insurance package last year. About 4 million Dutch people are currently eligible for Wegovy and the number of patients who are overweight or obese is growing every year.
“Are we going to give a potentially very large group of people in the Netherlands lifelong expensive medication, while we still do not know much about the appropriate use of this drug?” agency chairman Sjaak Wijma said in a statement.
The soaring cost of Wegovy and rival Eli Lilly & Co.’s obesity shot Zepbound is attracting scrutiny in a number of countries with US President Joe Biden demanding price cuts earlier this month.
In Novo’s home country of Denmark, a drug oversight panel has advised doctors to restrict prescriptions of Wegovy, saying the medicine is so expensive it would cost about $870,000 to prevent a single heart attack, stroke or other severe cardiac problem.
Semaglutide is the main ingredient in Novo’s diabetes medicine Ozempic and its weight-loss drug Wegovy. Ozempic is widely reimbursed for diabetes in Europe and has been used by many people for weight loss. Wegovy is only approved for weight loss but the Danish company has struggled to make enough to keep up with soaring demand for the shot.
The global shortage of semaglutide is another reason to avoid reimbursement of Wegovy, according to the institute.
Novo said it’s disappointed by the advice of the institute. “Our request was to receive reimbursement for a limited, controlled group,” a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “This approach is in line with the treatment guideline and would ensure that patients who need the drug the most would receive reimbursed access.”
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