The diabetes drug that may be worth $10 bn

Ailing Novo seeks cure with diabetes drug targeting the fat

James Paton 

"The experimental treatment, called semaglutide, should go on sale next year as an injection for diabetes. But that’s only the first step of Novo’s development plan: Its scientists are working on a patient-friendly tablet version of the drug that could reach pharmacy shelves in 2020. They’re also testing the product for a form of liver disease, a market some analysts say may eventually yield $35 billion a year in sales, as well as obesity.

As a slimming medicine alone, its effect could get closer to the results delivered by bariatric surgery, Jorgensen said in an interview. The drug’s annual sales may climb to almost $10 billion over the next decade, even before taking into account its potential use as an obesity treatment, according to Nordea estimates, providing a much-needed boost for the Danish company. Only one drug in the entire pharmaceutical industry exceeded that last year."