{"id":128544,"date":"2026-07-13T14:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T14:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/128544\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T14:00:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T14:00:17","slug":"novo-nordisk-backs-glp-1-implant-to-fix-patient-drop-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/128544\/","title":{"rendered":"Novo Nordisk backs GLP-1 implant to fix patient drop-out"},"content":{"rendered":"

GLP-1 implant: overviewVivani\u2019s implant delivers semaglutide steadily for up to six months via a membrane rather than injections, with a one-year version in developmentThe Novo Nordisk deal is an early evaluation rather than a commercial tie-up \u2013 any launch is still years awayIf the implant improves adherence, it could shrink the rebound spending manufacturers have relied on, making the current basket shift more permanent<\/p>\n

California biotech company Vivani Medical has signed a non-exclusive agreement allowing Novo Nordisk to evaluate NPM-139, its semaglutide implant. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s no licence attached and no exclusivity clause, so this isn\u2019t yet a commercial tie-up, but it\u2019s still a prominent vote of confidence from the company behind Wegovy and Ozempic in a technology built around adherence, not potency.<\/p>\n

The implant, built on Vivani\u2019s NanoPortal platform, sits under the skin and releases semaglutide steadily for up to six months, with a one-year version in development, using a membrane threaded with microscopic channels that let the drug diffuse out at a controlled rate.<\/p>\n

Vivani says this should avoid the peaks and troughs in blood levels that come with weekly injections, and with them, some of the nausea that drives people off treatment.<\/p>\n

Roughly half of all patients on any chronic medication, including daily pills, don\u2019t take it as prescribed, according to Vivani\u2019s own figures, and GLP-1 drop-out is even higher, with some estimates putting it above 50% within a year.<\/p>\n

Vivani CEO Adam Mendelsohn said the agreement \u201creinforces our confidence regarding the market opportunity for our GLP-1 implants under development\u201d, adding that NPM-139 \u201ccould address a growing segment of patients who would prefer a convenient once- or twice-yearly treatment option and the peace of mind that treatment could be stopped at any time if that became necessary\u201d.<\/p>\n

Take away the weekly jab and you take away the easiest moment for a patient to stop.<\/p>\n

Every patient who lapses \u2013 whether through cost, side-effects or simply losing the routine of a weekly jab \u2013 is a partial reprieve for the categories that have seen a decline due to these drugs. Manufacturers have been relying on that churn to keep the damage to indulgent and discretionary sales from compounding further.<\/p>\n

\"NicePeople taking drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic have reduced appetite for fatty, high-calorie foods. (Estradaanton\/Image: Getty\/Estradaanton)What drop-off has done to spending<\/p>\n

Roughly one in eight US adults is currently on a GLP-1 drug, with usage expected to climb further as oral formulations widen access and cost comes down, and analysts have put the potential drag on US food and drink sales as high as $30-$55 billion a year by 2030.<\/p>\n

The biggest casualty so far has been anything built around habit and reward rather than nutrition \u2013 around seven in 10 users who report eating less say they\u2019re cutting back specifically on impulse and indulgence purchases, with alcohol among the categories showing double-digit declines. <\/p>\n

Some researchers believe GLP-1 drugs blunt the brain\u2019s reward response itself, dulling cravings and the low-level \u2018food noise\u2019 that drives casual, unplanned eating, rather than simply suppressing appetite at mealtimes.<\/p>\n

The spending that remains is moving, not just shrinking. Protein, fibre, fresh categories, yoghurt, lean meat, produce and lower-sugar drinks are all cited repeatedly as beneficiaries, and long-term GLP-1 households are cutting back on everyday pantry staples and dairy basics by more than 10% compared with similar non-user households. <\/p>\n

A meaningful share of that spending rebounds, though \u2013 patients who lapse tend to hold their new habits for a couple of months before drifting back towards prior purchasing patterns, and it\u2019s this stop-start cycling, more than any single wave of new users, that has kept forecasts of category damage from being worse.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleGLP-1 medicines are transforming weight management for millions of people, with US usage reaching an all-time high. (Jyliana\/Getty Images)A longer leash changes the maths<\/p>\n

Every forecast built on current GLP-1 data assumes a certain amount of natural attrition \u2013 patients starting, stopping, restarting, drifting back to old habits in between.<\/p>\n

An implant built to extend treatment duration and remove the friction that causes people to lapse doesn\u2019t just add a new format to an already crowded GLP-1 market. If it works as intended, it narrows the cushion that\u2019s kept discretionary spending from falling further, meaning less rebound purchasing and a more permanent version of the basket shift already under way.<\/p>\n

Also read \u2192 Obesity in retreat as GLP-1 use nearly quadruples: New data paints a different picture for manufacturers<\/a><\/p>\n

The device is years from a pharmacy \u2013 if it gets there at all \u2013 but the industry\u2019s current planning still assumes that patients drop off. If that assumption weakens, the products and reformulations built to win back share during the \u2018off\u2019 months may need to work a good deal harder to earn their place in the basket at all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GLP-1 implant: overviewVivani\u2019s implant delivers semaglutide steadily for up to six months via a membrane rather than injections,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128545,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[271],"tags":[62444,62445,62446,62447,2244,62448,62449,2798,33669,3214,62450,140,62451,62452,6292,42009,62453,62454,62455,62456,62457,62458,62459,13327,62460,62461,34562,62462,61133,21415,62463,55824,272,33671,1207,2542,43798,62464,62465,62466,62467,36453,62468,62469,62470,62471,28479,62472],"class_list":["post-128544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-novo-nordisk","tag-20-24-years","tag-anticipation","tag-arms-crossed","tag-brunette","tag-cake","tag-casual-clothing","tag-caucasian","tag-chocolate","tag-color-image","tag-control","tag-copy-space","tag-day","tag-decadent","tag-desire","tag-dessert","tag-diet","tag-dieting","tag-domestic-kitchen","tag-domestic-life","tag-effort","tag-enthusiasm","tag-excitement","tag-eyeing","tag-food-and-drink","tag-head-and-shoulders","tag-hungry","tag-indoors","tag-indulgence","tag-intensity","tag-kitchen","tag-leaning","tag-leisure","tag-novo-nordisk","tag-one-person","tag-people","tag-photography","tag-piece","tag-smiling","tag-splurging","tag-staring","tag-temptation","tag-vertical","tag-wanting","tag-watching","tag-weakness","tag-willpower","tag-woman","tag-young-adult"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128544\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}