The Maker of Ozempic Is Trying to Block Compounded Versions of Its Blockbuster Drug

Drugmaker Novo Nordisk is taking action to curb the massively popular compounded semaglutide industry, which provides copies of its blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy to patients—often for much lower prices.

The Danish pharmaceutical company is lobbying the US Food and Drug Administration to add semaglutide to the agency’s Demonstrable Difficulties for Compounding (DDC) lists, which would block compounding pharmacies from producing dupes of the drug. In a filing posted by the agency on Tuesday, lawyers for Novo Nordisk reason that semaglutide belongs on the these lists “due to the complexities associated with their formulations,” among other reasons.

“These drugs are inherently complex to compound safely, and the risks they pose to patient safety far outweigh any benefits. Novo Nordisk’s aim with this nomination is to ensure that patients receive only FDA-approved, safe, and effective semaglutide product,” says Novo Nordisk director of media relations Jamie Bennett.

FDA press officer Amanda Hils told WIRED via email that the agency “is reviewing the petition and will respond directly to the petitioner.”

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