While Novo Nordisk hasn’t yet made stock available in New Zealand, that is about to change.
What is Wegovy and how does it work?
Wegovy is self-administered by a weekly injection and mirrors the natural hormone GLP-1, which regulates appetite. Users report a feeling of fullness and the squashing of “food noise”, the constant and intrusive thoughts about food. A 2021 clinical trial of semaglutide, the active ingredient in medications like Wegovy, found that participants lost an average of 15% of their body weight in 68 weeks.
Clare Murphy, host of the Mamamia women’s health podcast Well, has been on Wegovy since March. She was previously on the same drug under the name Ozempic in 2023, but she had to stop when supply was disrupted globally.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
“I didn’t truly understand what food noise was because I was always existing with it – the constant preoccupation with ‘What am I going to have next?’
“… It was like peace for the first time when it came to my relationship with food.”
The medication has given Murphy breathing space to make better decisions around food and exercise, while reducing joint pain. When the global shortage of Ozempic disrupted her treatment, she regained a small amount of weight but kept most of it off.
“You can’t just continue living your life the same way and expect it to miraculously resolve your weight issues.”
Wegovy doesn’t just affect weight, but health conditions that are connected to it. It reduces the risk of diabetes, cancer and heart attacks while decreasing liver inflammation as well as a host of other benefits.
However, for some patients, Wegovy might be a forever drug. Numerous studies show that many who stop taking Wegovy or similar medications regain much of their weight.
When will it launch?
Novo Nordisk would not confirm a New Zealand launch date. However, numerous health professionals confirmed to RNZ that they had been told July 1.
Clive Cannons, from Clive’s Chemist in Wainuiomata near Wellington, says his drug wholesaler has listed Wegovy’s availability date as July 1. A Novo Nordisk representative recently visited his pharmacy with information on the drug, which is standard procedure before a new drug coming on the market. Representatives are also “detailing” GPs around New Zealand on best practices for prescribing Wegovy, Cannons says.
Dr Lara Courtenay, a weight-loss physician at the MacMurray Centre in Auckland was told Wegovy would be available July 1 by a pharmacy wholesaler. She is preparing many of her patients who are on Saxenda, a similar but less effective weight loss drug currently available in New Zealand, to transition to Wegovy from July.
Dr Gerard McQuinlan, a Wellington-based GP who specialises in medical weight loss, has told patients he will begin prescribing Wegovy from July 2 to be sure the drug will be available on pharmacists’ shelves.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
“The patients are hanging out for it because they have all read about it,” says McQuinlan.
What will it cost?
While Medsafe approved the drug, Pharmac is not funding it so users will pay out of pocket and the cost is high and ongoing.
Cannons estimates Wegovy will cost users between $450 to $600 a month. It will be determined by the wholesale price and the price structure of individual pharmacies, he says.
Courtenay believes the price will be around $500 a month, similar to the A$460 Australians typically pay per month. The slightly higher price for New Zealanders will take into account the exchange rate and GST, which Australia does not add to medications, she says.
What are the side effects?
Like most drugs, Wegovy comes with a long list of side effects. Some are common, others are not. Nausea is a highly reported side effect. Murphy experiences this on and off.
“For me, I take a good drink of water, it can go away but for other people I’ve heard it can be quite bad.”
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Diarrhoea after meals happens occasionally.
“That is something I have had to manage but it is something that is not pleasant,” says Murphy.
Wegovy can’t be taken with some blood thinning and diabetes medication, says Cannons. Women who are pregnant or are thinking of becoming pregnant should not take Wegovy as animal studies have linked the drug type to birth defects.
“Young women who want to lose weight, that’s something they actually need to consider quite carefully,” he says.
The UK’s medicines regulator has also warned women that weight loss medications might blunt the effectiveness of oral birth control, potentially resulting in unplanned pregnancies.
Regardless of those warnings, Courtenay always recommends patients use barrier protection like a condom while on weight-loss medication.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
“I have had patients fall pregnant accidentally because women get ultra fertile when they lose weight.”
– RNZ